RWBY: Dark
by NerdWithAKeyboard
Summary: Forget everything you knew about the canonical world of RWBY. This is an alternate universe of despair, suffering, and pain. The characters you know are not here. The characters you know are switched.
1. Red Dawn

**Prequel 1 : Red Dawn**

This would be the day she'd waited for. This would be the day she'd open up the doors.

Ruby exhaled deeply and lit the last candle. She shook the match out, then tossed it into the wastebasket. She put her red hood up and looked deeply at the flickering flames not far from her silver eyes.

She was ready.

They saw her as small and helpless. They saw her as just a child. But this was a point where she tipped.

Today would be it.

* * *

Taiyang tightened the last bolt, then awkwardly shifted out from under the sink. He grunted as he stood up, then panted slightly and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Try it now," he said.

Summer nodded and turned on the faucet. Nothing came out. Then suddenly a quick splash of water sprayed out, but not from the faucet but rather the pipe Taiyang had just been fiddling with. Summer quickly shut off the water, then sighed and looked to her husband.

"What do you think the problem is?" she asked.

Taiyang sighed. "I know what the problem is," he replied. "That bolt doesn't fit right. I thought I could make do with it, but it looks like I'm going to have to go buy a new one." He shrugged. "Do have any spare Lien on you?"

Summer reached into her pocket and pulled out a small handful of money, placing it gently in Tiayang's hand. "Will this be enough?" she asked.

Taiyang nodded. "Yep, it should be more than enough." He winked at his wife. "I might bring home something special as well." Summer blushed.

"By the way, do you know where the girls are?" Taiyang asked.

"Oh, Yang's down in the basement with her punching bag. I think Ruby's still in her room doing gods know what." Her expression suddenly changed to one of concern, and she looked into her husband's eyes. "Taiyang, she's been acting weird lately."

Taiyang shook his head. "It's all that Grimm stuff she has. I don't know why she likes monsters and dark stuff so much."

Summer glanced around. "It's not just that. The way she's been speaking, the way she carries herself, the look in her eye; Taiyang, it scares me."

Taiyang put his hands on Summer's shoulders. "She's okay. It's just a phase. Pretty soon she'll grow out of all this monster stuff and move on." He kissed the top of her forehead. "Ruby's fine. She's not dangerous, she's just a little weird right now. Yang had kind of a mean streak too, remember?"

Summer raised an eyebrow. "Yes, but at least I know where she got that from."

Taiyang nodded. "I know. After Raven left, she started acting more like her. But she got over her, and now she thinks you're supermom."

Summer glanced around again. "Only because I don't beat her." She sighed. "I just wish I could know why Ruby is acting up. Was it something I did?"

Taiyang hugged Summer tightly. "No, no, no. You've done everything perfectly. But kids go through their dark phases, and Ruby's just going through hers. If she decides to go to the Academies with Yang, she'll be fighting Grimm. So she's just into some dark stuff right now, but it's just her taste in entertainment right now."

Summer pressed her head against his chest. "Okay. I trust you."

* * *

Taiyang stepped out onto the front porch and headed down the stairs. He looked at the cellar door nearby and heard Yang grunting underneath it, along with the frequent loud smacks of her pummeling the punching bag. She smiled a bit knowing his daughter was taking such good care of her body by exercising every day. He looked out to the car next to the dusty driveway, then quickly walked over and got in. With one last long exhale, he started the motor and pulled away from the house, and began his drive down the dirt road to civilization.

In the back of the house, Summer stepped out with a handful of wet laundry. She casually walked over to the clothesline and pulled out a bedsheet, and began quietly putting it up. The breeze felt good; it was cool enough to offset the warm sun, but not cold enough to cause a chill. With autumn coming soon, the days would be getting colder.

Summer became lost in thought as she pinned up a pillowcase, thinking about the changing seasons and the colder days. She was so focused on the thoughts buzzing around in her head that she did not even notice the sound of the back door gently opening and closing, and the sound of footsteps in the grass behind her.

Suddenly a voice startled her, snapping her out of her trance. "Hey, mom?" It was Ruby's voice. The choice of words was inquisitive, but the tone sounded like a firm statement. Summer turned around to see her daughter standing in front of her, her hands behind her back and her eyes down at the ground. She was dressed in her favorite black blouse with a waist cincher, black skirt, and her bold red hooded cloak.

Summer stepped forward towards her daughter. "Yes, Ruby? Did you need something?" she asked, concerned about Ruby's expression and stature.

Ruby looked up at her with gleaming silver eyes. Her brows turned down, and her mouth slowly strained into a smile. But Summer did not recognize it as a smile of joy. At least, not a good kind of joy.

"Yeah, actually." Ruby said, still smiling. "I need you to stand right there."

Suddenly Ruby's hands flew from behind her back. In her left hand was one of the knives from the kitchen, the blade reflecting the sunlight with a silver hue almost the same shade as its wielder's eyes. Before Summer even had the chance to open her mouth to scream, Ruby rushed forward and rammed the blade directly into her mother's stomach. Summer's scream was cut off, and she could do nothing but gasp for air. Ruby looked down at the wound, which was beginning to bleed profusely. She began pulling the blade out, but only went halfway before thrusting it back in again.

Summer could do nothing but stare right past Ruby and feel the pain in her stomach. She coughed slightly, and felt a splatter of blood escape her moth and dribble onto her chin. Then the rest of her mouth began to fill up with sour blood.

Ruby suddenly and sharply pulled the knife, covered in red, out of her mother. She did not hesitate to thrust it back in again, this time higher and angled up. Summer squeaked a bit in another attempt to scream, hoping that Taiyang, Yang, anyone would hear it. But it was not enough. Summer began to feel dizzy. Her vision began to blur, and the environment around her began to warp as she lost her balance. The sunlight began to fade, and the world darkened before her. Before she succumbed to the dark, she mustered every last bit of her energy to angle her head down to her daughter. Ruby looked up at her, and began twisting the blade. Summer did not eve feel it now. Summer opened her mouth, allowing blood to run out. As her vision faded, she sputtered one last question.

"Ruby… why…?"

Summer's last emotion was fear. Fear not of her daughter's answer, but her lack of one. All Ruby did in reply was spread her lips in a toothy grin. That was the last thing Summer Rose saw before her vision went black and she exhaled one final breath.

Ruby twisted the knife some more, making sure the victim was dead. Summer remained still, and Ruby could not feel her racing heartbeat or sharp breaths anymore. She slowly pulled the knife out, allowing her mother's corpse to fall in a heap on the grass. Ruby panted as she looked down at her kill, still smiling. Then she walked a few steps forward, leaned down, and grabbed her mother's hair with her free hand. She stood up, pulling Summer's body up with her. Ruby looked forward to the woods near the house, and began walking, slowly dragging the still bloody corpse behind her and matting the grass as she walked. She huffed as she pulled the body behind her, unaware that a pair of lilac eyes were peering from the basement window, having watched the whole thing.

* * *

The sun was setting as Taiyang pulled into the driveway. He quickly shut off the car and hopped out, carefully minding the small bag of bolts he had bought as well as a bouquet of red roses. Seeing him arrive home, a figure burst from the door and ran towards him.

Taiyang jumped, slightly startled to see Yang rushing in his direction. Her head was down and her body was positioned in a sprinting fashion, causing her to reach him quickly. Upon making contact, Yang threw her arms around her father and buried her face in his chest. Taiyang stood still, still surprised, as Yang mumbled something.

"Goodness, Yang, what's going on?" Taiyang asked, placing his hand on her head and stepping back to look her in the eyes. That's when he knew something was wrong; Yang's eyes were filled with tears. Her face was red and puffy from crying. She could barely breathe through her sobs.

"Dad…" Yang sputtered. "I've been waiting for you… to get home… I couldn't…"

Yang hunched down to her level, his face an expression of fright and concern. "Yang, calm down. What's wrong? What happened? Are you okay?"

Yang tried her best to answer through her sharp breaths and powerful sobs. "Dad… It's Ruby… S-she… killed… Mom!"  
Taiyang's heart skipped a beat and his body began to shake. "Yang, what did you say? What are you talking about?!"

Yang inhaled sharply as her nose began to run. She exhaled, composing herself just long enough to get her reply out. "I saw Ruby attack Mom with a knife…. There was so much blood… She went into the woods… She hasn't come back…"

Tayang promptly placed his hands on Yang's shoulders, shaking her slightly as he pulled her slightly closer. "Yang, you have to tell me the truth. I swear, if this is some sort of prank or game…"

"No!" Yang yelled, interrupting him. She sobbed more, tears streaming off of her face. "Mom's dead! And Ruby killed her!"

Taiyang's heart sank and his body began to shake. Tears began to fill his eyes. It could not be true. There was no way. His breathing grew rapid as he looked at his daughter.

"Yang, where did you say they went?" he huffed, trying to stay calm.

"The woods!" Yang cried. "Ruby dragged Mom's body into the woods! And she hasn't come back…"

Taiyang stood up straight, dropped the bolts and roses, and ran to the side of the house. Yang followed closely, barely able to see through her stinging tears. As Taiyang skidded to a halt, he looked to the woods behind their home. Just as Yang got behind him, Taiyang whirled around and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Yang, I want you to do exactly what I say. You're going to go to the upstairs bathroom, you're going to lock the door, and you're going to lay down in the bathtub. Don't grab anything sharp or your gauntlets. You're going to stay there and you're not going to make a peep, understand?"

Yang shook her head. "Please don't leave me. Please don't go after her. Pease!"

Taiyang pulled Yang closer. "I have to! If there's even the slightest chance that your mother is still alive, I need to go after her! Maybe I can figure out what's going on! Now you have to go, and promise me you won't open that door for anymore, including me! Understand? Yang, do you understand?!"

Yang hesitated, but inhaled sharply and nodded.

"Good. Now go! Now!" Taiyang shouted before standing upright again. Yang turned and sprinted to the front door, disappearing inside the house.

Taiyang reached into his pocket and pulled out a pocketknife. He flipped it open, then sprinted with all of his might into the woods, unaware of the blood-soaked grass beneath his feet. As he entered the mossy woods, the bright light of the setting sun was partially blocked by the trees, giving the illusion of a wooden cage wrapped around the area. The air was cold and damp, and the ground was overrun with leaves, moss, and sticks.

Taoyang ran through the woods at his top speed, careful only to mind his footing around the occasional rocks or roots. He kept his eyes locked firmly forward in the direction he was headed. He knew that the woods ended in a cliffside, and just hoped he could get there before the sun finished its dip down into the horizon. He paid little attention to his ever-growing exhaustion, with the only thoughts in his mind being hopes that this was not what Yang said it was. He hoped this was a mistake. He hoped this was a misunderstanding.

He hoped his wife was not dead.

As Taiyang sprinted past the dark trees, he began to notice them breaking up in volume, meaning he was nearing the end of the woods and would soon be at the cliffside. He panted as he began to run out of breath, but persevered nonetheless. As the trees began to disappear around him, he suddenly felt a wave of warm air as he breached the woods and into the open, the full might of the sunset lighting up his view.

Taiyang squinted to see past the glaring sunlight that had spread all across the western horizon, making the entire cliffside glow. He scanned the environment, frantically searching for something, anything, that could point him in the right direction.

Taiyang placed a hand over the staring sun, blocking out some of its intrusive light. As his vision darkened, he could not see anything out of the ordinary except for a relatively large stone sitting upright on a jutting out edge. Upon closer observation, Taiyang noticed it was shaped almost perfectly rectangular.

Almost like a tombstone.

As Taiyang stepped closer, the sun finally gave up and disappeared below the horizon, leaving a glowing twilight sky in its wake. As his vision became clearer, Taiyang noticed something about the strange stone: there was something crudely carved along the side facing the woods. Taiyang stepped closer to inspect it, then gasped when he identified it.

It was the Rose family emblem, carved into the stone and outlined in dry, red blood.

Taiyang had to muster all of his courage to step forward. As he got closer, he was even more terrified by what he saw next: a large hole dug at the foot of the stone. Taiyang's heart raced and his breath was stuck in his throat as he peered into the hole, about six feet deep.

His heart stopped when he saw his wife, Summer Rose, dead in the hole with a knife in her chest and blood covering her face and clothes. He shrieked aloud and leapt back, falling backwards onto the grass. He crawled backwards on his hands and rear, desperately trying to escape what he had just seen. He felt nauseous, and his head began to hurt. His breathing became rapid as he began to panic. When he heard the voice, he nearly jumped a mile.

"Hello father," a familiar voice said softly.

Taiyang jumped to his feet and turned to face the voice, From behind a nearby tree, Ruby Rose walked out. However, she was carrying something: a large scythe. It was the one that she had built for herself, but now it was painted black and red, with the only part still metallic silver the long, sharp blade. Ruby held the weapon behind her back, with the blade curved over her head like a lethal halo. A disturbing grin rested on her face.

As Taiyang stared, he could not even recognize his own daughter. She was different. The glimmer in her silver eyes was haunting and twisted. The look on her face was not one any human should ever have: one of pure, unrestrained… evil. He opened his moth, but found it hard to say anything. Eventually, he managed to cough out a single question.

""Ruby… what have you done?"

Ruby chuckled. "I just did what I was always meant to do. And today was the day I fulfilled my destiny."

Taiyang could not contain himself any longer. His rage began to surface.

"Ruby, cut the crap, right now! Who told you to do this? Who?!" he yelled.

Ruby threw her head back and laughed aloud, her face almost directly pointed at the blade above her head. While the laugh was the same tone as her voice, it was easily the most sinister sounding noise Taiyang had ever heard.

"Oh, father. As if I would do what anyone told me to do ever again. No, I chose this a long time ago, and today was my day to let the real me out! I've become more than human now. I am a force of darkness. I am a force of destruction. I am a force of death. I am… Grimm."

As angry, confused, and scared as Taiyang was, his eyes began to tear up. Then he let his rage take over. "You're right. You are no daughter of mine. If you're really the monster you think you are, then I'm going to kill you like one!"

Taiyang brandished his knife, then ran at Ruby. Ruby quickly swung her massive scythe blade around towards him, but he held up his knife at just the right height to completely block it. As Ruby whirled around, Taiyang stabbed at her. Ruby ducked down, dodging the blade, then slid down to the ground and weaved around her father's legs. Before Taiyang could even turn around to face Ruby again, she jumped back up, only to fall agin in a heavy dropkick to her father's back. Taiyang grunted as he was thrown forward, stumbling across the ground… right up to the cliff face. He skidded to a halt just before his feet reached the edge, barely stopping himself from going over. He whirled around to face Ruby, then felt a sharp pain run across his chest.

Ruby had swung her scythe and slashed through Taiyang's chest. She chuckled as she posed with her bloody blade. Taiyang looked down at his chest and saw a brutal gash, which was profusely bleeding. He took one last chance to look up to Ruby, hoping that he would wake up from this nightmare. But Ruby just smiled and waved at him. Taiyang felt his vision go blurry, then stumbled backwards off of the cliff. As he fell, his last thought was that hopefully he would wake before he hit the ground. He closed his eyes and ignored the pain. It would be over soon.

Ruby skipped over to the cliff edge and looked over it. Hundreds of feet below, the lifeless body of Taiyang Xiao Long lay motionless on the jagged, rocky ground. The earth was stained red, and she could just make out the faint glimmer of reflection from the knife blade a few feet away.

The sky darkened as the last remnants of daylight vanished in the west. Ruby chortled to herself, then chuckled. Then she began to laugh. Then she began to guffaw. Soon, she was shrieking in mad laughter so loud and hard she had to stop for breaths. When she finally stopped, she took a deep breath and raised her arms, scythe still in hand, to the sky.

"I have surpassed humanity!" she yelled. "Soon, I will surpass Grimm! Then, I will surpass… gods."

Ruby lowered her arms and head, staring out to the horizon, which was now surrounded by stars.

It had been a good day.

* * *

As Ruby walked out of the forest, her house came into view, silhouetted with nothing but a few windows illuminated. However, in the faint light emitting from one of the downstairs windows, Ruby could make out a tall figure standing between her and the house. As Ruby stepped closer, she saw the light reflecting off of the figure's golden hair and metallic weapons. A pair of lilac eyes stared her down with rage and intensity.

Ruby grinned. This was too easy.

Yang stepped forward, holding up her fists, which were locked in her Dust gauntlets. "If you take one more step, I'll punch your goddamned head off."

Ruby stopped, then locked her silver eyes with Yang's. Her smile widened as she opened up her scythe, revealing it in its entirety.

"Aww, what's the matter, Yang?" Ruby mocked. "No love for your little sis?"

Yang's brow furrowed. "You are not my sister."

Yang expected another quip from Ruby, but instead, Ruby's smile faded and she stabbed the bladed end of the scythe into the ground. She pulled her hood off and put her hands on her hips.

"Poor little Yang," Ruby said with an odd seriousness. "So blind to the world. You think you're just a little sun dragon, don't you? You think that you're a tough, hardened fighter just because you punch a bag of sand and you had a mommy that never loved you."

Yang tightened her fists and took another step forward. "Shut up!" she yelled.

Ruby shrugged. "Ironic that the younger of us would be the tougher one." She sighed. "I doubt you're even worth my time. I mean, old Raven did most of the work for me already."

Yang's eyes were red with anger. Her teeth clenched, and she felt beads of hot sweat dripping down her face. All she wanted to do was kill Ruby.

"I said SHUT UP!" Yang yelled, firing two of her Dust blasts into the ground around Ruby. Ruby leapt out of the way, backflipping to safety before rightening herself. She smirked.

"You're tenderized meat, Yang Xiao Long. Tenderized with punches and kicks and bottles of booze. I don't even know if I want to kill you. You're damaged goods. And I like my meat fresh and tough."

She skipped over to her scythe and picked it up out of the dirt. "So go ahead, Yang. Show little Ruby what you're made of. Kill me, and show me just how tough you really are. Hopefully you're at least a little tougher than old Mommy and Daddy."

Before Ruby could even realize what happened, Yang ran forward and punched her straight in the gut. Yang threw her arm back and slammed her gauntlet into Ruby's face, knocking her back. Ruby staggered a bit, fumbling her scythe, then reached up and put a hand on her stinging face, feeling blood leaking from her cheek. She glanced to Yang and grinned.

"Now that's what I'm talking about," she said.

Then Ruby gripped her scythe and swung it rapidly at Yang, slashing at the girl's face. Yang raised her arms and blocked with her gauntlets, feeling the vibrations from the metals colliding. Ruby then jumped and held her scythe above her head, yelling as she brought the blade down above Yang's head. Yang rolled out of the way and let the scythe blade plant itself in the dirt. As Yang stood up, she quickly sprinted to Ruby's side and began firing at Ruby at close range, consecutive with her punches. Ruby swayed her head back and forth, dodging the blasts and fists, but wincing from the volume of the shots going off right next to her ears. Ruby then raised a leg and promptly kicked Yang in the gut, pushing her back while she freed the scythe from the ground.

Ruby swung the scythe downward, skimming along the ground and curving back up towards Yang. Yang threw her arms up just in time, blocking the blade, though it knocked her arms apart and pushed her back. Ruby whirled around and tried to stab Yang with the scythe's bladed other end in a series of small thrusts, but Yang dodged them all and jumped around the scythe, landing a firm knee right into Ruby's chin. As Ruby's head was forced upwards, Yang spun in midair and kicked Ruby in the neck, slamming her to the ground.

As Yang fell back to her feet, she was instantly swept off of them again as Ruby used the scythe's handle to trip her up. Yang landed on her back and exclaimed with a grunt of agony. She turned her head to see Ruby sitting up next to her, raising the scythe's knifed end to stab her through the heart. She threw the blade down, but Yang's hand grabbed the weapon by the handle right above the blade just before it struck her. The two girls groaned and grunted as they tried to overpower the other, but Yang eventually pushed the blade back and kicked Ruby away.

Both fighters jumped to their feet, with Ruby the first to resume the attack. She began crisscrossing her scythe's strikes, whirling the blade around in fast angled patterns that made it difficult for Yang to dodge or block. As Yang blocked one attack, another soon followed and cut her across the side of her torso. She yelped at the stinging cut, which was just deep enough to draw blood. She kicked up dirt into Ruby's eyes, causing her to yelp as well and stagger back, her eyes shut tight and and her free hand rubbing at them. Yang rushed forward, but Ruby fought through the pain in her eyes and defended, blocking Yang's punch with the handle of her weapon and pushing her back. Ruby reached up and picked the dirt from her eyes, blinking rapidly to clear the pain and her vision.

Ruby turned to see Yang poised for another barrage, which she soon executed. She began punching and firing, with small flaming blasts echoing from her gauntlets. Ruby did her best to block or dodge each of the swings, but felt one land firmly on her ribcage. As the explosive charge fired, Ruby gasped in pain as she felt one of her ribs crack inside of her. Ruby staggered back, clutching her side. She looked down to see the fabric burnt and the skin underneath singed and red. She winced in pain, then looked back to Yang. Yang raised her fists, then ran in for another attack.

As Yang swung, Ruby dodged, but only enough for the fist to scrape her cheek. Seeing her opening, Ruby stepped forward through Yang's defenses and headbutted her. As Yang threw her head back, Ruby slashed at her with the knifed end of her scythe and cut her across her stomach and breasts. She then stepped back, readied her scythe, and leapt into the air with the elongated blade trailing upwards behind her. As soon as Yang reoriented herself, Ruby attacked with a powerful slash through the air, slicing Yang's right arm clean off.

Yang shrieked in pain and terror as she stumbled back, her arm now a burning stub that was bleeding profusely. She scanned the ground to see her arm, coated in red, laying still in the grass below her. She grabbed at all that was left, about half of her bicep, crying out in agony. Her eyes filled with tears so quickly that soon she could barely see. Through her blurred vision, she could see Ruby grinning wildly, her white teeth stabbing at her through her stinging vision. As she squeezed her arm, she realized that Ruby would not be expecting an attack now. She still had one gauntlet, and if she could strike Ruby right in the face one more time, she might be able to kill her. Yang screamed in pain once more, then allowed the scream to turn into one of fury. She released her arm and swung at Ruby's face, intent on knocking every single last one of those white teeth out of Ruby's fucking skull.

As Ruby saw the fist travel towards her, she reacted quickly. She spun around at allowed the attack to pass her, then swung down with her scythe blade… directly onto Yang's other arm.

Yang could not believe what was happening as all feeling suddenly drained from her outstretched arm, soon replaced by stinging pain identical to the one in her other arm. She screamed as her other arm fell to the ground with a thud and blood spewed from her new stump, cut almost in the same place as her right.

Yang felt the strength leave her body and fell to her knees shrieking and crying. She gritted her teeth and howled through them, though nothing dulled the pain.

Ruby walked around behind Yang, watching the display. She thought it was truly marvelous. Yan's cries of pain were music to her ears. She chuckled at the sight, then made her way back around in front of her sister.

As Yang cried, she faced the bloody ground and watched her tears land on the grass. Suddenly, she felt a pinch on her cheeks and her head was forced up to look at her attacker.

Ruby chortled as she gazed into Yang's bloodshot lilac eyes. "So it seems you're not as tough as you thought. I figured as much." She threw Yang's head back, allowing her to drop it again. "But you were tougher than I expected, I'll give you that. I think you broke one of my ribs." She reached down and placed a hand on her injury, wincing from the pain as she did so. "Consider yourself lucky. You will be the last one to ever hurt me." Ruby paused, looking down at her defeated opponent. Yang certainly was strong. As much as Ruby did not want to admit it, Yang had been a worthy opponent. Maybe too worthy…

"But make no mistake," Ruby continued, "you are weak. You are weak and pathetic. But not weak enough to just get rid of all willy-nilly."

Yang use every ounce of her strength to raise her head and crane her neck, looking up at Ruby. "What… what are you saying?"

Ruby glared down at her. "I'm saying that I'm not going to kill you. You may be of use to me. At the very least, you'll be a trophy: a last reminder of the pathetic human I used to be before I ascended."

Yang choked, but managed to work up enough saliva in her sore mouth to spit on Ruby's boot.

"Never…" Yang sputtered.

Ruby looked down at the ball of spit on her boot, then looked back up. She rolled her eyes as she spun her scythe around in her hands.

"Poor little Yang. Still so FUCKING BLIND!"

Ruby slashed with the knifed end of the blade, cutting right across Yang's face above her nose, letting the blade run deep. Yang shrieked, and the last thing she saw was the blade of Ruby's attack and the grass beside her. As Ruby finished her slash, two round objects bounced to the ground; white orbs with lilac irises.

Yang's screams of pain rose louder than ever before as her sockets and the cut open bridge of her nose burned. There was only darkness before her, and only pain across her body. The pain from her stumps was eclipsed by the pain at her face, so much so that she could only focus on the latter. There was no description for the feeling running in an almost perfect line across her face, but it made the pain from the loss of her arms seem like paper cuts in comparison. Yang shrieked and shouted, but could not even weep. She could feel no tears, only blood.

Ruby raised her scythe upright and admired her handiwork. She then glanced over to the side of the house and saw something that intrigued her. She slowly began walking over to it, favoring her rib. She knew Yang was not going anywhere.

As Yang continued to scream, Ruby looked to what had intrigued her. It was a small pile of items they had used for their dog Zwei, who had died about a year earlier. There were some old toys, a few balls, an old cloth collar and leash, and… an old metal chain and spiked collar. Ruby remembered that her late father had bought it for the mutt, but it was too big and he never returned it. Ruby bent down and picked up the collar and chain, then glanced over to the wailing Yang. As she stared at her wounded sister, a malicious, toothy grin spread across her face.

Yang did not even hear Ruby come back; her sobs drowned out all other noises. She then heard the clinking of metal in front of her. She lifted her head, but forgot that she could not look. As she stared into the void, she suddenly felt a cold metal item seize itself around her sore neck. It was tight and sore, just loose enough to breathe and swallow. She felt a click as the item was secured, and a tug from something attached to the item. Then she felt hot breath against her stinging face.

"You are mine, Yang Xiao Long." Ruby's voice was serious and gruff. "I own you, like the dog you are. Now I'm going to give you a choice, and I want you to think about it carefully because it's going to be the last choice you'll ever make of your own will. Here's your choice: you can either have these little cuts patched up and follow me as my slave, or I can hang you by your neck from one of those trees and let you bleed out, slowly, painfully. Either one I'm okay with." She paused, and in that brief pause the entire world was silent. There was no wind, no insects, no sounds of breathing. Then Ruby broke it. "Make the choice now."

Yang inhaled as the information flooded her tormented mind. As much as she wanted to show her strength, as much as she wanted to ensure Ruby would not win, her thoughts only traveled back to the pain in her face and limbs. They were all she could think about. The only thing on her mind was lessening the pain. She just wanted to end the pain. She sobbed, with only a quick flash of thought of what she was giving up, but her desire for survival took hold.

"I-I-I am your s-s-slave… R-R-R-Ruby…" Yang sputtered.

Ruby grinned. "Very good. I knew you'd come around. But first thing's first. You'll address me as 'Mistress' from now on, do you understand?"

Yang groaned, not fully taking in what was being said.

Ruby's eyebrows fell and she yanked Yang's collar, pulling her face so close she was almost in contact with her bleeding eye sockets.

"I said, DO YOU FUCKING UNDERSTAND ME?!" Ruby screamed right in Yang's bleeding face.

Yang gasped in fear and pain, then blurted out, "Yes! Yes Mistress! I understand!"

Ruby released some slack on the chain allowing Yang to collapse back onto the ground, sobbing. She smirked. "Good. Now, let's get going. We need to make sure you don't bleed out too soon. Get up."

With shaking legs, Yang began slowly standing up. As soon as her feet were on the ground, she felt Ruby pull the chain and make her stumble forward. She kept her balance, and began walking behind Ruby.

"Oh," Ruby said, pausing suddenly. "There's one more thing I wanted to do." She walked back a few steps the way she came, reached down, and picked up one of Yang's severed arms off of the ground. She grabbed the gauntlet and pried it off, then opened the ammunition hatch in the back. She then took a few steps towards the house, dragging Yang behind her. She poured the Dust ammunition right outside the back door of the house, then tossed the empty weapon away. She the reached down to her belt and fumbled around until she found a small container clipped to her belt. She opened it up and pulled out a single red match. She ran it across her belt, lighting it. The small warm glow illuminated the night, and Ruby promptly dropped it onto the Dust before jumping back. The Dust instantly ignited, popping and exploding, expanding the flames every which way. As Ruby stepped back, the house began to ignite.

Even without her eyes, Yang felt the ever-growing heat in front of her and heard the crackling and popping of fire, and knew exactly what Ruby had just done. She wished she could shed just two tears: one for her mother and one for her father. But she could not.

"I'm sorry, Mom and Dad." Yang whispered to herself, careful that Ruby would not hear. "I failed you."

Ruby did not hear Yang over the roaring fire, and stared in glee as her childhood home burned. Then she giggled and began walking again, pulling Yang behind her.

"Come on, slave." Ruby said sadistically. "We've got places to go and people to kill." She then laughed a short, wicked laugh and pulled Yang along. As she walked, she began to hum her favorite song, "Red Like Roses".

It had been a really fucking good day.


	2. Cold Front

**Prequel 2: Cold Front**

Weiss took in a sharp breath. She cleared her throat, then exhaled slowly, quietly. She closed her eyes and began walking forward. She felt the ornate marble beneath her feet as she slowly walked into the room. She knew this room well. Today it would be the room where her fate would be decided.

As Weiss walked, she flashed back to the events that had brought her here.

She saw her father, Jacques Schnee. He had run the Schnee Dust Company with an iron fist, and Weiss respected him for that. He had grown the company by monopolizing Dust production in the Kingdoms, and save millions upon millions of Lien by increasing the amount of Faunus slaves in the mines and factories, reducing the need to pay employees. But everyone, no matter how powerful, must die someday, and Jacques' day was fast approaching.

Weiss stood next to her father's bed; her younger brother Whitley on one side of her, her older sister Winter on the other. Jacques' aged, glossy eyes rolled over to gaze at them with a cold and disturbing stare.

"My children…" Jacques wheezed. He coughed violently, then continued. "Soon I will be dead, and the company will be left to one of you. My entire empire goes to the one that utilizes their training the best: you will fight. To the death. The one still alive in the end inherits everything. You inherit the world."

Such it was decreed. Whitley, the spineless coward he was, surrendered his claim to the inheritance by refusing to fight against his clearly superior older sisters. Weiss figured that when she was through, she'd slit his obnoxious little throat for good measure.

Winter, on the other hand, was far from backing down. Weiss would not expect anything less from her strong older sister. Winter already had blood on her hands from Faunus slaves she beat, even executing a few that dared to stand up against the Schnees. Weiss knew this, and knew that her sister would not be afraid to spill blood, hers if necessary. Her father had decreed a fight to the death, so that was what he was going to receive. He had his secretary (a disgusting old hag with no sympathy for anyone, let alone the Schnee children) make the arrangements, and she decided that there was no better place to show off the accumulation of their combat training than the room where they trained for so many years: a vast, white marble war room dubbed the "White Castle".

Now, today was the day. The secretary would look on as Weiss and Winter faced each other in a battle that would leave one as the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company fortune and the other a cold corpse in the ground.

Weiss did not even have to open her eyes to know where she was going; every inch of the White Castle was engraved, carved into her memory like an etching in stone: permanent and solid. Each time her foot hit the ground, she knew exactly what part of the floor she was on, right down to the pattern of the tiling beneath her feet. She remembered that those tiles would often be soaked with her sweat and blood as she persevered through vigorous training and ruthless beatings. She had to develop a pain tolerance, after all. Her father specifically requested that armored company guards beat her and her siblings during training to toughen them up. While Weiss admitted that it seemed unorthodox, she could not argue with the results.

As her footsteps fell, they echoed in the vast hall. Weiss could tell just from the sound of the echoes that all of the training and torture equipment had been removed, leaving the entire space hollow and spacious; perfect for a duel.

Weiss soon realized that she was approximately at the center of the ornate hall. She took a few more steps and stopped, her eyes still shut tight. As she exhaled, she heard footsteps in front of her. They were heavier than her own, but were still carried with the same stature and grace expected of a Schnee woman. She knew all of her family members' footsteps: Whitley was fast and light, Jacques (when he could still walk) was slow and quiet, and Winter's were steady and demanding. The sounds she heard now were unmistakably Winter's. She heard the footsteps get closer and closer until they stopped. Weiss slowly opened her eyes and looked up at the figure before her.

Winter stared down at her, her cold eyes matching the intensity of her father's. She was dressed in her normal attire: a regal, tight, bright white military uniform decorated with medals and ribbons. Her stature was straight and firm, with her arms crossed tightly behind her back. Her mouth was frozen in a permanent frown, as icy as the rest of her features.

Weiss took a deep breath in through her nose, then spoke. "Hello, sister."

Winter was silent for a moment, her gaze as frigid as her namesake, before finally replying. "Weiss."

The two had nothing else to say. They just stared at each other, and neither knew that the other was attempting to fight back the good memories they had shared with the other. They were sisters, after all, and while they had been raised in a lifestyle of individuality and isolation, they still felt the familial bond that pulled them together. They would train together, fight together, and work together. There were times Winter had dried Weiss' tears, and times Weiss had made Winter laugh. Even now, as they plotted one another's deaths, they still felt that bond.

Each of them tried to shake it. This sense of empathy could make them weak. If they were weak, they may loose. Both figured that the other had long abandoned empathy and was ready to strike them down without hesitation, when in reality both of them subconsciously dreaded the coming confrontation.

Their thoughts were interrupted by loud radio feedback. A course, all-too-familiar voice that both of them despised echoed around them.

"Greetings, daughters of Schnee," the secretary cackled. "Today will be the day you will face one another in armed combat for the right to inherit the Schnee fortune." She paused, seemingly relishing in the moment presented before her. "The battle will be to the death." She paused again, but this time a faint chuckle could be heard before she continued. "Despite your training in formal combat and my preference in you using that, your father has decreed that you may use any means necessary to triumph."

Weiss silently gasped. While she knew that Winter would probably stick to formal combat like her (as that was what they were used to), she realized that all she had to do was fall on her back and Winter could stomp her face in. There were more ways to be killed now.

"I will be watching the battle from my observation chamber," the secretary continued. She chuckled again. "And may I just say, off the record, that I am very much looking forward to the ending."

Both Weiss and Winter huffed, and Weiss shook her head. They both knew that the secretary had no empathy for either one of them, but neither were aware that she hated them enough to want to witness their deaths.

The secretary leaned into the microphone, so close that Weiss could almost smell her rancid breath though the hidden speakers. "Get ready."

Winter promptly reached to the scabbard on her regal belt and swiftly pulled out her dueling saber. The blade flashed as it reflected the light and barely missed Weiss' face. Winter held the blade at her side. Weiss reached to her rapier and swiftly unsheathed it, held it vertically in front of her face, and then pointed it to the ground.

The secretary chuckled again as she watched the two arm themselves. She pushed her spectacles into place and leaned into the microphone again. "Get set."

Both Weiss and Winter simultaneously took a step backward and prepared, holding their weapons in readied positions to strike or defend.

Weiss and Winter locked eyes for one final moment. Both sets were focused, but both women thought they saw sadness in the others'. They mentally told themselves it could not be true.

The secretary breathed heavily into the microphone and practically pushed her face up against the glass of the observation booth. Though the Schnee girls could not see it, her smile was so large and so wicked that it would make a Grimm freeze in horror. She savored the moment for only a second longer, then leaned down so far that she practically had the microphone in her mouth and, on the verge of maniacally laughing, said:

"Kill."

Both women moved at the same time, their weapons clashing in between them. They locked for only a second before Winter pulled away and began a barrage of slashes at Weiss' exposed sides. Weiss threw up her rapier vertically as each slash approached, blocking it back. Weiss stepped back, then waited for the volley to stop. As Winter retracted her blade, Weiss threw her rapier horizontal and lunged at her sister, almost sliding on the smooth marble floors. Winter slid backwards, dodging the blade and allowing it to pass next to her. Winter then quickly threw her blade into her other hand and stabbed at Weiss' head. Weiss bent her neck sharply, allowing the attack to barely miss her. She leapt back to a safe distance, then prepared to defend.

Winter leapt into the air and brought her saber down on Weiss, who blocked it with a quick horizontal slash. Winter was left open, but her rapier was nowhere near where it needed to be for a clean impalement. Weiss only had to consider her options for the briefest moment before remembering that, while it was not exactly formal, she could use any means necessary. By order of her father. So Weiss raised her arm, curled her fingers, and threw a decent punch into Winter's stomach.

Weiss felt Winter recoil under her fist, and heard a faint grunt. Winter stepped back and gently placed a hand on the impact zone, then leapt back into the air, raising her leg and kicking Weiss right in her face. Weiss tensed as the boot struck her, the heel sneaking between her lips and striking her in her teeth, and the rest planting itself firmly from the bridge of her nose to her hairline. Any lower, and the strike probably would have broken her nose. Weiss grunted as she staggered back, her arms flailing slightly as she attempted to regain balance. Then it hit her: she was exposed.

Winter rushed her exposed sibling, aiming the tip of her saber directly at Weiss' throat. Winter hoped that, if she were able to stab Weiss through the neck, she may sever her spinal cord and end her life relatively painlessly.

Weiss, however, moved her head slightly, and just in time. She felt the blade skim her pale skin, the cold metal scraping against the side of her neck. Before the blade could even finish the journey, winter retracted it and, in a swift motion, swung it at Weiss' face.

Weiss saw the attack too late. She pulled her head back in an attempt to dodge, but the ip of the blade shallowly dug above her left eye and slashed down to her cheekbone. Weiss yelped in pain as she jumped back, feeling the stinging on her face. She quickly dabbed the area with the palm of her hand and blinked rapidly to check the severity of the injury. She could still see; so the blade had not struck hard enough to hurt her eyeball or blind her. However, the palm of her hand had a linear streak of blood, and Weiss could feel the warm liquid run from the stinging wound run down her cold face.

Before she could contemplate the injury, Winter attacked again, this time aiming for Weiss' exposed abdomen. Weiss threw her raper up vertically ad blocked the attack, with the two weapons locking on. Weiss looked up at her sister's focused and furious face, then pushed her back and rapidly stabbed in her direction. Winter blocked and dodged most of the attacks, but a single one skimmed her shoulder, slightly tearing the uniform and creating a small superficial cut that began to slowly bleed. Winter huffed in more annoyance than pain, then lifted her leg again and planted her foot in Weiss' gut. She kicked, pushing the younger girl back. Weiss grunted from the pressure, but realized it was more of a distancing maneuver as opposed to an attack.

Winter placed both of her hands on the handle of her saber, then began rapidly swinging. Weiss blocked each one, but felt the strength behind each blow as they began to push her back. Suddenly, Winter stabbed her blade downwards, below Weiss' rapier, and thrust her arms upwards, forcing the rapier up and exposing Weiss' abdomen again. Weiss gasped before realizing that the risky maneuver had exposed Winter as well. It was now just a matter of who was faster. As Winter pulled her arms back and prepared to thrust her blade into Weiss, Weiss pivoted her wrist and pointed her rapier at Winter. The two began to stab at the same time, but Weiss' longer weapon gave her the advantage.

Weiss thrust the rapier directly through Winter's abdomen, almost directly at her core. Winter gasped loudly as the blade impaled her, stabbing through the flesh above her belly button and digging through to the other side, where it burst through. Due to Weiss' angle, the blade missed her spine, but it hit everything else. At least, everything it needed to. Winter's weapon was only a centimeter away from Weiss' stomach as Weiss finished pushing the weapon into Winter, the decorative hilt of the rapier pressing up against Winter's uniform. Winter felt the metal pierce the skin on her back and break through, as she began gushing blood from both sides.

Weiss heard the secretary whoop and begin laughing as she finished the stab. She squeezed the handle tightly and reluctantly looked up to her sister's face. Winter was trembling, her already pale face devoid of any and all color as her eyes stared forward in shock and fear. She coughed gently, and a trickle of blood ran from the side of her mouth. Weiss heard her weapon clatter to the floor as she began to go limp.

But Weiss could not do it. She could not let her sister die afraid.

The secretary's mad laughter faded into the background as Weiss released her rapier and caught the limp Winter. She could feel her sister's sharp breaths and violent trembles as she handled her, allowing herself to support Winter's weight. She slowly and carefully took a knee, carrying Winter gently down. She then gradually reached for her weapon, gripped the handle, and swiftly pulled the bloody metal out. She heard winter yelp slightly as the blade was removed, and felt the warm blood as it seeped into her uniform. She threw the rapier to the ground with a clang, then gently laid Winter on her back.

Winter was still trembling and gasping, each breath becoming more and more shallow. Weiss got on her knees and leaned down, placing her hand on her sister's head. Before she knew what was happening, her eyes began to tear up and she began to cry.

"I'm so sorry," Weiss said through tears.

Winter's eyes turned to look at Weiss'. Her trembling slowed, and her eyes began to tear up as well. "You… did what you had to…" she wheezed.

Weiss continued to sob. "I wish it hadn't come to this," she sniffled. "I never wanted to hurt you."

Winter reached up and placed a hand on Weiss' cheek. "Me neither… Weiss…" she gasped. "Just promise me you will be the most powerful CEO ever."

Weiss just nodded as she took in her sister's words. Winter inhaled sharply, then slowly exhaled. She blinked a few times, then looked at Weiss' gash. "Weiss?"

Weiss ran her hand through Winter's hair. "Yes, Winter?"

Winter groaned, but continued. "Can you please just…. do one more favor for me?"

Weiss nodded quickly, splashing tears. "Anything."

"When you're CEO, could you…. could you kill the secretary?"

Weiss had attempted to drown out her laughter, which was still going, and had tried to forget about her for this one moment, but the faint sound of her guffawing enraged her. "Of course," Weiss replied. "My first act will be to have her thrown into a furnace in one of the Dust mines."

Winter's mouth raised into the faintest smile. "I… I'd like that. Thank you, Weiss."

Weiss leaned down and kissed Winter's forehead. "I love you, sis."

Winter used her thumb to wipe away one last tear. "I love you too."

Weiss shut her eyes in an attempt to hold back tears. As she did, she felt Winter's hand go limp on her cheek and heard her inhale slowly. Weiss opened her wet eyes to see Winter's eyes roll back and close, her head fall limp, and her mouth part slightly as she slowly exhaled her last breath.

Weiss' tears flowed into her wound, causing it to sting. The teardrop falling on Winter's uniform were stained red. Weiss carefully placed Winter's saber on her chest and crossed her arms over it.

The secretary caught her breath after her laughing fit, then spoke sinisterly to Weiss again.

"Congratulations, Weiss Schnee. You are now the sole heiress to the Schnee family fortune and future CEO of the Schnee Dust Company. As soon as your father passes, everything will belong to you. Do you have any requests before we inform your father of his successor?"

Weiss glanced down at Winter, then turned her head sharply towards the observation booth with a furious and hardened stare.

"Winter Schnee's likeness is to be carved into a marble statue. Along with a golden plaque with her name, it will be a memorial and be placed outside of the Schnee manor. Furthermore, Winter will be buried in the Regal Mausoleum next to her mother."

The secretary chortled. "But Weiss, that mausoleum is only for CEOs and their spouses. Why don't we just put her in the cemetery with the rest of those unworthy of-"

Weiss cut her off, yelling. "It's Madame Schnee or Lady Schnee to you, dolt!" she hollered in a tone that even took the secretary aback. "And Winter Schnee will be buried in the Regal Mausoleum! Do I make myself clear, you foul old crow?!"

The secretary stood in stunned silence for a moment, then leaned into the microphone again. "Yes, Madame Schnee."

Weiss huffed, looked down to her sister one last time, and began walking out of the White Castle to tend to her injury. If she was not alone before, she certainly was now. As she walked, she realized that no one could feel as lonely as she did then.

She was the loneliest of all.


	3. From Shadows

**Prequel 3: From Shadows**

Blake ran her hand through her ebony hair, pulling it back to reveal her piercing amber eyes. She briefly glanced into the mirror, catching a glimpse of the rare sight. She scoffed, feeling uneasy and incomplete without her mask. She was naked without it now; it had almost become a substitution for her real face. Her ears twitched in disgust... her black, pointed cat ears that rested on the top of her head. She stretched out her hand and grabbed the bone-white mask off of the table, quickly pulling back and placing it on her face. She glanced into the mirror again, and this time she felt complete.

As Blake stared at the animal in the mirror, the tent's flaps rustled, and a familiar figure stepped in. She was wearing her intricate, angular mask and black uniform, her dark skin and brown hair almost blending in with the shadows of the tent. Blending was what she was best at, after all.

"Blake," Ilia said, "it's time."

Blake sighed in a mix of frustration and hesitance, letting the thought sink in. She was finally about to do something she had planned for some time. And nothing was going to stop her. Not this time. Blake looked over to Ilia with a gaze of content.

"Okay," she replied.

* * *

Adam Taurus sat at his desk, hastily writing on a piece of paper. He payed little attention to his handwriting or spelling, quickly jotting down the notes. As he scribbled his letter, his trusty Lieutenant pushed his way into the leader's tent.

"Sir, the members are gathered and are prepared to march," he said. Adam looked over to his friend out of the corner of his eye, barely able to make him out through the narrow gaps of his mask.

"Good," Adam replied. "Do we have enough picket signs for everyone?"

The Lieutenant nodded. "Too many, in fact. Some are doubling up."

Adam chuckled slightly. "Well, the more the merrier I suppose."

The Lieutenant stood still for a moment, then spoke again. "Miss Belladonna insisted that she bring her weapon to the protest."

Adam sighed and looked back down to his writing. "Blake may be a little more extreme than some of us, but she wants the same thing we do. So far, she hasn't had the need to use it. Let's keep it that way."

The Lieutenant nodded, then walked back outside. Adam closed his tired eyes and shook his head. He reached up and pushed his mask into place, stood up, and walked out of the tent, leaving his letter unfinished.

* * *

The group of assembled White Fang members was sufficiently large. The numerous Faunus were all wearing white masks, holding picket signs, and chattering amongst themselves. In front of them was a set of three small wooden platforms, with the leftmost one being the shortest and the center platform being taller than the other two. The Lieutenant stood on the shortest platform, looking over the conversing group. Blake walked over to the platforms and, with a quick, cat-like leap, hopped on top of the rightmost platform. She immediately directed her masked gaze to Ilia, who stood in front of her pedestal looking up at her. Blake nodded to her.

Adam emerged from his tent, briefly looked over the crowd, then made his way to the platforms and swiftly jumped onto the center one. His second-in-command, Blake, turned her attention to him.

"Running late again, I see."

"Oh, give me a break, Blake. I know for a fact you got here only just before I did."

Adam's gaze traveled to Blake. Sheathed on her back was her bladed weapon, colored in a black as dark as Blake's own ebony hair.

Adam sighed and turned his gaze back to the crowd. "Must you carry that thing to a protest?"

Blake fidgeted, but did not look at Adam. "You never know… when you might need it."

Adam decided that now was not the time to argue. He looked down to the Lieutenant and nodded. The Lieutenant nodded back, then loudly clapped his hands twice. The chattering slowly quieted down, and all masked eyes turned to face their leaders.

"Brothers and sisters of the White Fang," Adam said in a loud, booming voice, "today will be the next step in our fight for equality. Today, we will march upon the streets of Vale, and make it known that Faunus will not be treated as animals any longer!"

Scattered clapping and cheering arose from the audience. Ilia kept her eyes focused on Blake.

"After today, we will embark on our greatest challenge yet: the Schnee Dust Company!" Adam announced.

Some of the cheers turned into murmurs and gasps, with some of the members glancing at each other.

Adam realized the lack of enthusiasm for the new mission. "Yes, the SDC has been one of our biggest threats in this quest. But they continue to use Faunus for slave labor, and subject them to the cruelest of tortures and deaths. After Vale, we will go to Atlas. We will march the the Schnee's doorstep. And we will let them know that the White Fang demands liberation!"

Small cheers and a few claps arose, but the crowd remained unsure.

Adam sighed again. "Yes, I know it is dangerous. But it is necessary. It is okay to be afraid..."

This was not the moment Blake had planned, but it was the perfect opportunity. She quickly glanced to Ilia and nodded. Ilia rapidly spun around and walked into the crowd. Blake turned her gaze to Adam.

"But what if we didn't have to be?" Blake shouted, interrupting Adam. The crowd's heads turned to face her, as did a confused Adam.

"Blake, what are you doing?" Adam asked in a loud whisper.

"What if we did not have to be afraid? What if we could make the SDC, nay, the _human race_ afraid of us?"

The crowd murmured, and Adam's face began to turn red under his mask.

"Blake!" Adam continued in his loud whisper. "Can we do this another time?"

"No!" Blake shouted at Adam, catching him off-guard. "For too long we've waited! Our hearts are with you, High Leader Taurus, but your methods are no longer adequate!"

Blake turned to the crowd. "It is time for the White Fang to become what we were meant to be! It is time for us to prove ourselves, not as sniveling protestors, but as fierce warriors! I know, no, you _all_ know that Faunus are the dominant species of this planet. We're better than humans. We have everything humans have and more. Humans shouldn't just fear the Faunus, they should serve the Faunus!"

Agreements and claps rose from the audience. Adam glanced around, trying to figure out what to do.

Blake nodded. "Imagine it: a Faunus-controlled Remnant. Our brothers and sisters no longer subjected to torture and death at the hands of real monsters! All Faunus, living in a utopian paradise where we reign supreme, and humans grovel out our feet!"

More cheers rose from the crowd. The Lieutenant hopped down from his pedestal and began trying to control the crowd.

Blake smirked. "From shadows, we'll descend upon the world, take back what they stole!" She raised her voice to compensate for the growing approval.

"From shadows, we'll reclaim our destiny! Set our future free! And we... will... rise!"

Most of the crowd was shouting their approvals and clapping now. Adam could take no more and grabbed Blake's shoulders, turning her to face him.

"Blake, stop this!" he shouted. "Think about what you're doing!"

Blake shrugged him off. "I have, Adam. For a long time, I have thought about it. Our people suffer, and what do you do? Rally. Protest. Argue. Well no more. Your methods aren't getting us anywhere. We need to fight."

Adam shook his head. "I want equality! I want peace! If you do this, you are no better than they are!"

Blake scoffed. "What you want is impossible! But I understand. You're so naïve, Adam. You don't realize how this world works."

Blake turned back to the crowd, ignoring Adam. "So rise, brothers and sisters of the White Fang! Pick a side: my methods, which will bring us the respect and power we so rightfully deserve, or the methods of Adam Taurus, which lead us nowhere and have us march on the SDC with nothing but signs and harsh words!"

Ilia heard her cue, and shouted from within the crowd, "Hail High Leader Belladonna!"

"Hail, High Leader Belladonna!" Most of the crowd repeated the call, raising their fists in the air.

"No!" the Lieutenant suddenly shouted. He reached out and grabbed Ilia by her shirt. "Stop this now, or there will be judgement!"

Ilia sneered. "If you are not with us, you are against us." she said. "You are a traitor to the Faunus race! You'd rather we continue to grovel at the feet of humans than take our place in the world!"

A large portion of the crowd booed and some hands reached out and pulled the Lieutenant off of Ilia.

"You are not White Fang!" Ilia snapped. "You are not a Faunus! You are... a human."

With that insult, the crowd reached out and grabbed the Lieutenant. When a select few individuals stumbled forward to help him or intervene, they were grabbed as well. The hands threw the former members to the ground, the Lieutenant punching and kicking as he went down. The crowd swarmed those on the ground and began to claw and strike, until Blake could not even see the defectors on the ground. All she could hear were their shouts and pleas as the crowd beat them.

Blake turned to Adam, who was staring in shock and horror at the ordeal. "It's your choice, Adam." Her voice was gruff and serious. "You can join us, and help us liberate out people, or..." She pulled her blade off of her back and pointed it at her former leader. "...you can die with the rest of them."

As Adam stared at her in terror, she lowered her weapon slightly and whispered to him. "Join us, Adam. You'd be an irreplaceable asset. You can't save our people if you're dead. No matter how it may seem, I do genuinely respect you. You gave me this opportunity. If you joined us, you'd be kept in the highest ranks of the White Fang. You would be given the power to help us end this as soon as possible. Please do it, Adam." She looked through the narrow eyeholes of his mask. "For me."

Adam's mind raced as he considered her proposal, all while hearing the dying screams of his fellow White Fang members as they fell to the crowd, the Lieutenant's yells being cut off with the loud sound of a crack. What he wanted to do was jump into the mob and allow them to let him join his fallen comrades, but he realized that, in order to restore the White Fang to what it was, he had to remain alive. He was the best chance at a peaceful White Fang. He would be lying to Blake, to the world, and to himself, but he could figure something out.

Adam dropped his hands to his sides and looked down at Blake's boots. "You're right," he said. "We can't change minds with bark and no bite. If peace is to come, it must be in a Faunus-controlled Remnant."

Blake's mouth morphed into a genuine smile of satisfaction and relief. "I knew you would make the right call, Adam. I will see to it that no harm comes to you." She lowered her weapon. "When it started, all we wanted was a chance to live our lives. Now, in darkness, we'll be taking everything we want, and we will rise."

Adam nodded as Blake looked out on the new White Fang.

"We'll rise."


	4. 365 5

**Prequel 4: 365.5**

Day 1

I want to die. I'm still trying to wrap my head around what has happened. I hurt… just so much. I can't even tell if I'm crying anymore. Everything is dark… just so dark. I feel that if I just hit my head hard enough, I'll wake up from this nightmare.

It was horrific enough seeing what Ruby did to Mom… I couldn't breathe… I couldn't think… I was just so scared… I just wanted Dad to hold me and tell me it was going to be alright. But then he didn't come back… and Ruby did. I should've just hid like he told me to. Why was I such an idiot?! He told me what to do to stay safe, and I had to disobey him because I thought I was strong. Because I thought I was brave.

My stumps sting… Ruby held them over a flame to cauterize them… she just wants to keep me alive. She won't even let me die now. I'm a coward. I should have let her kill me and be done with it. I wouldn't be hurting so much… I would see Mom and Dad again…

I can tell now that my life will just get worse from here. I can't see, I can't think… if Ruby gets the better of me, I'll lose what little sanity I'm clinging onto… I can't let that happen. A journal, even if it's just a mental one, will at least keep me sane. After that monster goes to sleep each night, I'll commit myself to recalling the day's events in my mind. Keeping a mental log. At least then, when things inevitably get worse, I can think back to when things hurt less.

I hurt so much. I can't tell where we are. Everything is black. Ruby tied some cloth over my eye sockets to stop the bleeding… they're too tight. Every second I want to reach up and pull them off, as my mind keeps associating them with being the cause of my blindness. But I can't. I cannot reach… or grab… or claw… or hold… And even if I could, removing the cloths would do nothing. I'd still be trapped in this darkness… I can't fathom it. I keep telling myself, "You're blind now", but I still won't believe it.

This collar is too tight… it was meant for Zwei. Gods, do I miss that dog. Ruby just kept pulling me along… no resting, no stopping except when she stopped. For miles all I heard was the damn clinking of this chain and our footsteps in the grass… the chain is too loud.

I think we're in somebody's house… Ruby punched me in the gut and threw me down on the ground, commanding me to stay put. I felt her tie the chain to something, then walk away. About five minutes later, I heard screaming… a woman screaming. There was a lot of loud banging and footsteps, then I heard another woman scream even louder. Her scream got cut off… then I heard a baby cry. There was a loud bang that sounded like someone kicking a door, then some more crying, then sudden silence. I think… no, I know Ruby killed that baby. And whoever those two women were. I heard her come back out and untie the chain, then felt her yank me to my feet and pull me indoors. There's carpet beneath my feet, and the walls feel like drywall. She threw me into a corner and began kicking me. She tied my chain to something else, punched me in the face, and walked away. From what I heard it sounded like she was undressing, as I heard her boots hit the carpet and what sounded like cloth fall to the floor. I heard her gently prop her metal scythe up somewhere. Then I heard some rustling and creaking that sounded like she was lying down on a mattress or couch or something. If I had to guess, I'd say that Ruby broke into this house and killed everyone, and that we're currently in the house's living room with me tied up in a corner and her naked and asleep on the couch. At least, I hope she's asleep. Her breathing sounds like it's asleep.

But I won't sleep. Not tonight, maybe never again. There are too many things keeping me awake: my mind is racing, my heart is beating, and my body… it just hurts so bad.

I'm sorry, Mom and Dad. I failed you. If I had just been more cowardly, I would've stayed in hiding and been able to avenge you later. Hell, if I had just been more cowardly, I would have just let Ruby kill me, and now all three of us would be together. But I had to be brave. I want to promise that I'll never be brave again, but I think I'll need to be if I'm going to get through this with my sanity still intact. I can only hope that Ruby grows tired of me and ends my life, or that my wounds will become infected and I'll rot from the inside out, because anything is better than this. I hope I die soon, so this will all be over.

I hurt so much.

* * *

Day 2

I sat in that corner for what felt like an eternity last last night, freezing cold. I was shivering, but had to fight it because it was making my chain rattle. If it woke Ruby up, I'm sure I would've been beaten within an inch of my life. I knew sunrise had arrived when the room began to warm up, though not by much. Ruby remained asleep for about four more hours after that, then I heard her stir. I listened to her get off of the couch, stretch, and walk over to her clothes. She spat on me on her way over. I listened to her dress and grab her scythe, and figured she would raid the house's kitchen for breakfast, but instead I just felt a sharp slap across my face. I didn't even hear her come over to me.

She said something like "wake up, bitch" or something to that extent. Then she grabbed my hair and pulled me up to her face, then punching me in the gut again. I couldn't even recoil from the blow, because Ruby was holding my head stationary by my hair. She yanked my hair back and pushed me into the wall, then let go and undid my chain. I took a few deep breaths and tried to clear my head before she began tugging at my neck again, and I followed. We left the house, and began walking to gods-know-were.

That's what we did most of the day. Walk. She just kept walking, dragging me along behind her. My feet are so sore; it feels like the soles of my boots are about to fall off and take the bottom of my feet with them. The only times I got to "rest" were whenever Ruby rested, and even then she usually took the opportunity to punch and kick me to the ground, so I couldn't run away while she sat down. If I wasn't on my feet today, I was lying on the dirty ground after getting her her boot in my stomach.

Finally we seemed to reach her destination, which sounds unmistakably like the beach. I can hear waves, smell the salt water, and feel sand beneath my feet. She pulled me a bit of a distance further; I'm assuming she was trying to find another house or a place to stay for the night. We found what I think is some kind of shack or small vacation home, and thank gods no one was there. From the sounds, this place is really cluttered. Ruby couldn't find anything to tie the chain to, so she just threw me to the ground, kicked my face, and went to sleep in one of the corners of this place still holding my chain. I'm exhausted. My feet hurt, and I need to sleep. My mind is still racing, but maybe I'll try and fall asleep tonight. I need it.

* * *

Day 3

I'm panicking. I can barely breathe. I want to die!

I managed to fall asleep last night, but was woken up by Ruby kicking me. She pulled me up like the day before, then pulled me out of the shack. We didn't walk long before she found a boat of some sort. She threw me in and beat me to the ground, then got in herself and began rowing to what I can only assume is the mainland. She was eerily quiet for most of the trip. She didn't even hum or whistle "Red Like Roses" like she usually does. I knew that she was upset about something; I think she didn't sleep well and was now in a bad mood. On the one hand, her being in a bad mood made her keep to herself a bit and not hurt me as often. The downside was, when she did decide to hurt me, she didn't hold back. That's why today was the worst… cumulating to what she did to me tonight.

We rowed for hours, and all I was able to do was cower on the edge of the boat and try not to get seasick. Occasionally I'd gag, and Ruby would kick me in the face to shut me up. At least when she did that, she sent whatever was coming up back down.

She kept going until what I could only assume was late evening, because it got really cold really fast. Soon after I felt the boat reach a shore, stopping us. Ruby pulled me out of the boat and threw me onto the sandy beach, then kicked me square in the gut. As if my seasickness wasn't bad enough, that was the blow that pushed me over the edge. I leaned over and vomited on the sand. I haven't eaten in days, so not much came up. But Ruby was furious.

"The fuck do you think you're doing?!" she screeched. "Did I give you permission to puke?!" She pulled my hair back and punched me across the jaw… really hard. I think she almost knocked it loose. She threw me down and I had to do everything in my power not to cry, because I knew she'd punish me for doing that, too.

She kicked me a few more times, then yanked my chain up and started pulling me along. We didn't walk far before we found someplace to stay, though by the way it smells I'd assume we were in a waste dump or landfill or something. We went inside an office or trailer of some sort (which was empty), and I instinctively walked over to cower in a corner somewhere for the night.

But Ruby wasn't done with me. She pulled me back over to her and punched me to the ground. I'll never forget her words.

"Uh uh uh, no you don't!" she screamed. "We aren't done yet! You think you can do something as disgusting as vomit in front of your Mistress and get away with it?! You're fucking in for it now!"

I expected her to just start hitting and kicking me, but I heard her open her scythe. With little warning, she began slashing at my back. Each cut stung, and I felt each draw blood. My clothing was ripped and scrapped, but then she did something I never thought even she would do.

She ripped my clothes off of me.

She bent down and began digging her nails and the tip of the scythe blade into my flesh, then began tearing the fabric off of me. She kept on ripping and tearing until my shirt was a pile of cloth on the floor. Then she cut my bra off with the blade, hit me with it, and threw it away. Just when I thought it couldn't get worse, she swung her scythe and cut right down my back all the way to my butt, splitting my pants. Then she tore those, and my underwear, off as well! My half -sister had stripped me naked, and then proceeded to kick me and slash at my back with the blade. It took all my willpower to curl up and try to cover myself. She grabbed my hair and pulled me up so I was facing her. I felt her hot breath as she spoke.

"Learn your place, slave." She was seething in anger. I could practically feel her rage as her grip on my hair tightened and she growled at me through clenched teeth. Then she threw up her knee directly between my legs, hitting me right in the crotch, before throwing me by my hair into the very corner I had tried to escape to earlier. She spat on me, tied my chain to something, then walked away to go sleep.

I don't know if I can take it anymore. I'm lying here, naked, bloody, starving, nauseous, and freezing cold. I've been violated, and I can't even kill myself. If there are gods, they would let Ruby leave her scythe close to me so I can open it and slit my throat on the blade. But I can't even do that! I'm panicking! I can't breathe! I want to die! I want to die!

I WANT TO DIE!

**PLEASE LET ME DIE!**

* * *

Day 6

The past few days have been a blur. I don't even remember them. All I know is that Ruby used some gritty, dirty cloths she found somewhere to cover my breasts and crotch. I don't even remember what day that was.

Everything has just fuzzy… I don't think I was able to think straight after that night. I remember walking, and being kicked, and hearing screaming… but there's no timeframe for them. I don't know when or why they happened. I don't know where we are, nor who was screaming. For all I know, it could've been me. My mind is just a haze of pain and screaming… I wonder who was screaming. I don't know what I going to happen next. Maybe the screaming I heard was inside my head. It always sounds like someone is screaming… am I screaming?

Screams.

* * *

Day 10

I took a life today.

We're in some kind of neighborhood, I think. Ruby broke into one of the homes and attacked the people inside; but she didn't leave me outside. She dropped me right next to the wall in the room where she did it. It sounded like a big family; five or six kids, a mother, and a father. The father was the first to fall; from the sound of it, it sounded like she either slit his throat or stabbed him in the neck, because he was gasping and gurgling before he went silent. I heard the metallic whirl of Ruby's blade as she cut the family down, ending with the mother. But I still heard whimpering and crying from one of the kids; it sounded like a little girl.

I heard Ruby chuckle, and the girl squeal in fear. There were some loud and staggered footsteps, and soon the two were right in front of me.

"Slave, you are going to prove that you are loyal to me," she said. "Kill this child, and maybe I'll give you something to eat."

Well, I hadn't eaten in three days (the last I ate was some sort of bread crust left over from one of Ruby's meals), so immediately the offer was tempting. But I hesitated, and decided to try anything to get myself out of it.

"How?" I remember rasping. "I can't see her. I can't grab her."

I figured Ruby would realize that I couldn't kill anyone in my condition. I also prepared to receive the brunt of Ruby's wrath for questioning her, but surprisingly she didn't attack.

"Well It's pretty fucking obvious you still have a mouth," she said. "So why don't you stop yapping and put it to some use?" I heard her push the crying child closer to me. "Go on, bitch. Sic 'em."

I did my best to consider my options. I didn't want to kill her. Not in the slightest. Even with the promise of food, I didn't want to hurt anyone, much less a child. I wanted to stand up to Ruby so badly.

But then I remembered what happened the last time I stood up to Ruby. The last time I was brave. If I refused, she would just make my situation worse and give me nothing to eat. Worst of all, if I refused to kill the child, Ruby would just kill her anyway, and probably in a much more horrific manner. At least if I was to kill her, I could make it merciful.

Being brave had only brought me pain. It was time to take the coward's route.

I stood up as quickly as I could and did my best to locate the child by sound. It wasn't easy, but I eventually found where her neck was. I leaned down to where I was over it, and listened to her fearful sobs in my ear. As I leaned in, I whispered in her ear in a voice quiet enough for Ruby not to hear, "I'm sorry."

Not wanting to waste any more time, I leaned down and bit the child as hard as I could on the side of her neck. She screamed… a soul-piercing, gut-wrenching scream… and writhed in my mouth as I bit down harder and harder. Then, as fast as I possibly could, I pulled back and tore my mouthful of flesh off of the poor child. She wailed and sobbed, but was gurgling and gasping. I felt hot blood spray onto my face as I splat the flesh out.

As the child's cries escalated, so did Ruby's laughter, which started as a chuckle and soon morphed into wicked cackling. That combined with the wails of my victim were overwhelming. I wished I could cover my ears and block it out.

Not long after the cries and sobs began to grow quieter, and soon the only sounds the child were making were choking. I struggled to catch my breath as I heard hers increase to a rapid pace, then slow down. With a final choking exhale, the child went silent.

She was dead.

The deed had been done. I had taken a life. The life of a child, no less. I felt her blood still running down my chin as I fell backwards and scooted up against the wall. I wish I could remember if I was crying. Ruby's laughter deadened, and I heard her speak.

"Well done, slave. For that, you'll get a whole piece of bread tomorrow morning." She chuckled. "Now, I'm going to go see if I can find the parents' big, comfy bed. Gods know I deserve it. As for you, I'm going to tie you up right here for the night." I heard her walk over and tie my chain to something metal, then walk back over to me. She must have seen my horrified expression and rapid breathing, because she kicked me in the head and threw me to the ground.

"Get over it. This won't be your last kill."

I gasped as Ruby stormed away to an upstairs room. But I couldn't help it anymore, knowing that I just killed a child and that her body was only a few feet away from where I was cowering.

I screamed.

* * *

Day 20

What kind of animal have I become?

I was so hungry… Ruby had fed me some bread and a scrap of cheese a few days ago, but it did not satisfy. She kept getting angry at my stomach growling… she punched me in the gut so hard that I would've thrown up if I had anything in there.

I guess an upside is that she hasn't made me kill anyone else, at least not yet. She's broken into a few more places and killed the people, but I'm appalled to say that I'm becoming desensitized to it all. I don't even know how many victims there are anymore; surely she has to get bored of this sometime, right? Take a break?

Anyway, we ended up settling in some cold basement for tonight; I think some drunkard was living here and Ruby killed him with a broken bottle. Ruby went to sleep on a mattress on the other side of the room and tied me up to some pipes or supports or something.

As I was lying there, trying to ignore my rumbling stomach and fall asleep, I heard something nearby. It was a faint clicking and squeaking, and I soon realized it was a rat. I don't know what came over me, but I think my starving gut got the better of me. I sat very still, just listening to the creature scurry close to me, careful not to scare it off. I could hear every time its small feet and sharp claws landed on the hard floor. I could tell exactly where it was… almost like I could see again. I waited until it ventured too close, then, careful not to wake Ruby, lunged at it. I heard it squeak loudly before my teeth fell around it and bit down.

Oh, it was the most disgusting thing, feeling its dirty, hairy body squirming around in my mouth as it's little claws swung and it squealed in panic. I increased the pressure of my bite, and felt the bones crack and finally snap in my mouth. It stopped moving, and I knew it was dead. It was right about then that I realized what I had done. I was about to spit the dirty rodent out when my stomach growled again. I listened to it and felt it twist in painful hunger. As dirty and disgusting as the rat probably was, I couldn't help it anymore. I was just so hungry. I figured if I contracted a fatal illness from the filth I was about to eat, I would at least finally die.

As quietly as I could, I set the rat down, shifted my weight to hold it down, and tore a chunk of meat off. It didn't taste good at all and was grimy, but at least it was food. It was even tougher to swallow, but my stomach wasn't going to be picky. I stripped that rat down to the bone, leaving nothing but a skeleton and tiny feet. That should at least keep me going for a couple more days.

I've really devolved into an animal, haven't I?

* * *

Day 34

It's becoming harder and harder to keep track of the days. Most days I'm so tired that I fall asleep before I even have the chance to start my mental journal. She made me kill another person yesterday; a teenage boy.

We arrived at some sort of farmhouse or something, and Ruby ran in and killed an elderly woman living there with some of the farm tools. She found this boy hiding in a barn, and I was forced to listen as she stripped the boy naked like she did with me. After that I heard crying and yelling from him, telling her to stop doing something. Whatever it was, she was laughing almost the entire time. I can only hope that she was only hurting him with her scythe blade and not what I think she was doing.

After she was done, she pulled me into the barn.

"Alright, I've had my fun with this little cutie," she said. "Yang, sic 'em. You won't leave this barn until he's dead."

Hearing her say those words made me think back to the little girl, and how horrible I felt afterwards. But the same thought process came to me, and I decided it would be more merciful if I ended him.

I heard Ruby walk away, then listened for the boy. It wasn't hard to find him, he was squirming and sobbing. I staggered over and heard him on the ground, crying. I fell to my knees and followed the sound to find his neck. Before I could even open my mouth, I heard him speak.

"Please kill me," he sobbed. "She… she… violated…" The kid could barely speak through his tears. Judging by the sound of his voice and the rough estimate I was able to make of his height, I assumed he was probably around Ruby's age, but much shorter. He couldn't have been much younger than me. I sympathized and almost related to him; we were two teenagers forced to watch our parents die before being violated and tortured by the same monster. But the difference was that he was ready to die after it all, while I was a fool who let Ruby do everything to me.

I scooted closer, and felt his bare skin brush up to mine. He was shaking in fear, and his sobs got louder and more rapid when I leaned down to his neck. I didn't even bother apologizing this time. I just ended it quickly.

After I heard him stop moving, my stomach growled again.

* * *

Day 67

Every day is almost the same. We walk, Ruby kills someone, and then beats me. However, she's taken on this new habit of making me lick her boots while she cleans her scythe. While it's humiliating and disgusting, I guess there are far worse tortures to endure. Besides, at this point, I'm beyond humiliation.

There's honestly starting to become nothing to comment on every day; it's just walking and killing whenever Ruby finds someone. Occasionally, she'll make me attack someone. She'll say those damn words, "sic 'em", and then make me kill a target. It's infuriating. I hate her for it. That hate leaks out when she makes me kill; I just wish that, everything I do to those innocent people, I could do to Ruby instead.

I hate her.

* * *

Day 88

She's been making me actually fight my targets recently. She won't cripple them and then make me finish the job; she actually makes me, a blind, armless, malnourished girl, run up to someone and try, with just my other senses, to actually engage other people in fights. But I'll be punished if I don't win them. So I listen for every sound they make to determine where they are, then go in biting. It's savage to say the least, and some of the opponents have been stronger than my past victims. One was a tough, muscular dude who managed to trip me up and start beating me up. Of course Ruby didn't step in, she was watching me get beaten for free, and she didn't have to lift a finger. Eventually I threw the man off and ended it with a single bite to his jugular, but I think he broke my nose. Not like it matters.

I don't want to know how many people I've killed.

* * *

Day 101

We stopped walking today. We holed up in a small, vacant house yesterday, and I was expecting to keep moving today, but Ruby said that we were "making camp for a few days". She left me tied up in a corner somewhere and threw me some raw fish (I have no idea where she got it), then left. She hasn't been back all day, and I think it's nighttime now.

Still, I'm not complaining. This one day without her has probably been the best day of this entire ordeal. I'm finally alone with my thoughts, even though those thoughts scare me. I don't want to reflect back on how I've devolved. I can barely even remember what life was like before this. The furthest my memory seems to go back is that day when it all began.

I need to at least attempt to enjoy this silence while I still can. Because any second, Mistress could burst in here and…

Wait…

Did… did I just… call Ruby "Mistress"…

…in my own head?

* * *

Day 102

She's still not back yet. Gods, what is she doing? I finished off the rest of that fish today, so hopefully she'll be back with more food.

I'm starting to get sore sitting in one place for two straight days. I actually found the strength to stand up and walk around a bit today, but there's only so far my chain will let me go, and walking is something I've had to do every day anyway. I'm bored… but at least it's better than torture.

* * *

Day 103

Still no sign of her. This silence is starting to drive me insane, and I'm starving. Where is she?

* * *

Day 104

Where?

* * *

Day 105

Ruby finally showed back up today. She seemed to be in a good mood, which I knew couldn't be good. I don't know what she did, but whatever it was, it was horrible enough to make her happy. She came in and threw a rock at me before leaving and going to take a shower (I heard the water running). When she came back, she threw a piece of meat to me and I ate it, though I wasn't able to tell what kind of meat it was. We headed out shortly after that, and soon the day became like the dozens before it: walking until we found a house with someone inside, who Ruby killed. Now we're staying in the house.

Throughout all of this, I never stopped to wonder why the police haven't caught up to us yet. Surely, with all of the murders that Ruby has committed, someone has gotten a lead. Ruby might be a formidable opponent for most fighters, but even she can't stand up to a half dozen armed officers with guns. I wonder if anyone's looking for me… is there a chance that I could be rescued after all? It's a fool's hope to think that at this point I guess, but I suppose it's still possible. I wonder if the governments know about us.

Just how infamous is Ruby?

* * *

Day 142

For the past month or so, I've really been thinking about the police and the governments. Just where are they? Along this path of bloodshed, someone, anyone had to have found a scene and reported it. And Ruby's not one to clean the place up afterwards either, so chances are someone know who she is and what she's done. What I've done.

Where are they?

* * *

Day 150

Now I'm really starting to get pissed off. Is the whole fucking world in on the same scheme to make me miserable? Did every last sane person drop off of the fucking map, and now it's nothing but psychotic freakshows that support Ruby? It has to be! Why else would no one have come for me? It cannot be this fucking hard to find a serial killer! She doesn't even try to hide! She leaves everything a mess and walks right out in the open with a fucking mutilated slave bitch on a chain behind her!

Actually, I hadn't thought of that either. In all the times we've been walking from place to place, no one, not one single motherfucker saw a bloodstained girl dragging a walking corpse behind her on a chain? Or has everyone in the fucking world seen me and just done nothing about it?!

Ruby may be a monster, but the rest of the world isn't much better! Why the hell is there NO ONE to help me?! The only other people we've ever seen are dead now! Do the police just not exist anymore?!

Where the fuck is everyone?!

* * *

Day 195

Today was the first day that I actually learned where we are: we're somewhere on the outskirts of Vale. It's hard to believe; all this time traveling and we've only made it as far as Vale. It's maddening.

We found yet another house, but this time, I think I killed everyone inside. Ruby told me to "sic 'em" again, and I guess I did. I have a hard time actually remembering if I did or not, but I have faint memories of killing a husband and wife, but with the way things have been, they could have very well been some of the people I was forced to kill in the past. But I do know where we are now, and I know that we're staying here tonight.

Now that I think about it, if I did all the killing, that means Ruby must've somehow removed my chain so I could run in and do it.

Why didn't I escape?

* * *

Day 200

Something big happened today. Something that changes everything.

Ruby mainly hung around the house all day, raiding the kitchen and hitting me with her collapsed scythe. Later in the evening, Ruby was in one of the other rooms doing gods-know-what while I cowered in a corner per usual, feeling the air getting colder as the night settled in. As I tried to stay warm, suddenly the house shook and I heard the loudest bang I had ever heard in my entire life. From the sounds of it, it even caught Ruby off-guard, as she ran past me and out the front door. I sat there with my heart pounding in my chest for about a minute before a second tremor hit, this one even harder and louder than the first. I heard the front door open and what sounded like Ruby panting excitedly. She sprinted over to me and undid my chain, then practically pulled my head off yanking the chain up. I actually had to run to keep up with her.

We ran out of the house when another tremor hit, shaking the ground and causing me to almost trip. It was accompanied with the loudest boom yet, and whatever it was, we were running right towards it.

I was still in shock from the surprise and Ruby's sudden actions, so it took me a moment to wrap my head around what was happening. When the next one hit with an even louder sound and stronger hit, I finally realized what those tremors were.

They were explosions. From bombs. Someone was bombing Vale. Someone was bombing Vale, and we were headed right towards them.

It didn't take us long to reach our destination. As we grew closer, I could hear more terrifying sounds: loud crumbling, popping and crackling flames, and the horrible sound of crowds of people screaming and crying. Ruby gasped and squirmed in what I can easily assume was delight, because she began laughing afterwards. She pulled the chain, and I was forced to stand right behind her.

"Someone's bombing the city!" Her voice sounded like she was in pure ecstasy. "And all the survivors… they're trying to flee… but they're running right towards me!"

I gasped in horror as silently as I could. All those people… they needed to escape! But Ruby was blocking their escape route! Who knew if they were going to get past her?  
I almost wanted to do something. Knock Ruby over, slow her down, anything to try and help those people. But Ruby turned and ran, pulling me behind her. She soon came upon a large rock, and threw me down next to it. I heard her activate her scythe, as the screams and the cries came closer. I was almost crying myself; there was no way that I could let Ruby do it. She had gone too far.

Just before I could stand and confront her, I felt her reach down to my collar and fuss with it a little bit before taking the chain off. Before I could even wonder what she was doing, she said it again.

"Yang, sic 'em."

My memory is a blur after that. I have flashes of the sound of screaming and tearing, as well as the faint sound of Ruby's scythe and maniacal laughter. While I can't remember it, I know I killed people. And with Ruby there, the death toll must have been catastrophic. I don't know if I can live with myself after this…I taste blood in my mouth.

* * *

Day 202

I don't remember much. Just brief memories of sounds and tastes, all of which I hope aren't real. I'm confused, angry, and sad. My mind is tied up in knots. I can't tell what's real anymore.

* * *

Day 224

We've spent weeks in Vale, just scavenging the ruins for more survivors. Ruby hasn't paid much attention to me, but she hasn't made me kill anyone for a while. This place stinks, and it's hot. I still hear fire and crumbling, but the screams are mostly silent. When they do occur, Ruby cuts them off. I wonder how much longer Mistress will carry this out.

* * *

Day 255

Ruby found some abandoned, decrepit building that I can only assume was partially destroyed in the bombings, and we've been here for weeks. Every day Mistress will go out hunting, and only occasionally will she take me with her. I can't remember any of the times I've gone out, though. My only memories are of the stink and the heat. I hate this place.

* * *

Day 269

We left Vale. I don't know where we're going. I hope there's food; Mistress hasn't fed me in a few days.

I feel funny. I don't know how to explain it. Am I broken?

* * *

Day 298

It's hard to think. Every day, my memory seems to slip further and further from me. Now I can't even seem to recall the past few months; the only things I can remember are Mistress beating me, the smell and heat of Vale, and… wait, there was something else. There were… people. Yes, two people… a man and a woman. They were important to me. Even though everything is black, I can somehow see their faces… the faces are familiar. I know these people from somewhere. Or, at least, I knew these people from somewhere. I think I let them down somehow… I made a promise to them… gods, what was it? Why can't I remember who they were? I know they were important. Who were they?

* * *

Day 333

I don't know where we are, but I don't care anymore.

Why can't I remember who those people were?

* * *

Day 34?

I've started to loose track of the days. I don't know if I'll even bother counting anymore.

* * *

Day 3?

Mistress is taking me somewhere. She says it's somewhere we've been before.

* * *

Day ?

Mistress. Stink. Quiet. Vale.

* * *

Day 365

We'Re in A HOusE. miSTreSs LEave. WhEre GO?

* * *

Day 365.5

bLoOdy BootS. MiSStrEss mAkE ME licK. i HuRt.

i WaNt tO DiE.


	5. Chapter 1: Grey Morning

**Chapter 1: Grey Morning**

She had the nightmare again last night. She was there, with all of her friends and allies, when his forces burst through the wall and let all the Grimm inside. The ones who weren't torn into bloody shreds by the monsters were sadistically beaten and killed by the Huntsmen. She still heard the laughing.

Cinder ran her hand through her hair. Her ebony strands were drenched with sweat, which leaked from her forehead and arms as well. She shivered, as the sweat was cold and bitter. She closed her eye for a brief moment, blocking out her surroundings and taking in a deep breath of the cool, damp air. She opened her eye again, staring at the wall at the end of her cot, the grey stone as dull and as depressing as it had always been.

Cinder snapped out of her trance and peered gently around the room. In the other corner of the stone room was Emerald's cot, which had been abandoned and tidily fixed up.

"I overslept again." Cinder thought out loud.

Seeing as how she was already late, Cinder took her time to get ready. She started with a pleasant water bucket bath, though the water was cold. After the sweat she had worked up, it was better than smelling like shit.

After a quick dry, Cinder proceeded to put on her leggings, boots, bandage top, and sleeveless vest jacket. One of the boot laces was worn down so much that it was ready to snap when she pulled the knot. She told herself that she would have to remember to look for some next time they were out.

Cinder ran her hand through her cold black hair again, this time to remove it from her vision. She softly pushed it over to the other side of her face, covering up the patch. Sometimes, she forgot that she did not have to clear her entire face of hair like before; only one side.

Cinder stretched her arms and back, then made her way out of the room and into the corridor. As she traveled through the dimly lit passage, she heard a faint dripping sound.

"Great," she thought.

As she approached the source, she saw a rapid stream of water spilling down from the ceiling. That spot had always been leaky, but she thought Mercury had managed to fix it. Apparently, he did not.

Cinder did her best to avoid the water as she passed, as she had had enough of being wet this morning already. She shimmied across the opposite wall, careful to avoid the large puddle that had pooled, and stepped over the area to the dry safety of the other side. She sighed, then continued.

It was not long before Cinder reached the main room. She peered in to see who was inside: Emerald, silently eating a bowl of cereal while seated in front of a wooden crate; Mercury, punching a sack of salt that he had tethered to a board; Neopolitan, doing repairs on her parasol; Roman, cooking up an egg while silently puffing on a cigar; and Salem, rocking seated in the corner as usual. Cinder sighed again, then stepped into the room.

"Well, well, well. Look who finally decided to wake up." A condescending and snarky voice belittled.

"Shut up, Roman." Cinder huffed. She made her way over to where Emerald was sitting. The cereal box and the pitcher of milk were still sitting on the crate. Cinder gestured towards them. "May I?"

Emerald nodded once. "Go ahead, I'll be done after this bowl. You might have a hard time finding a bowl and spoon, though."

"Right here," Roman said, raising a ceramic bowl with his left hand as his right continued to swirl the pan with the egg around the stovetop.

Cinder said nothing as she walked over and picked the bowl and spoon up. She walked back over to the crate, then poured herself a small bowl of cereal with milk.

"Almost out of milk," Cinder stated, looking into the emptying pitcher.

"Just another thing we need to get next time we're out," Mercury grumbled.

"Which will be today," Cinder said. "We need too many things too soon to put it off anymore. I need some shoelaces, Salem needs some more medicine, Neo needs some Dust, and we all need some more food and drink."

"And a stick of deodorant," Emerald winced, glancing over at the nearby Mercury with a sour and disgusted expression.

"Screw you," Mercury barked. "And where the hell are we going to get more Dust? We've cleared out this part of the city, and Tyrian and the others haven't come back yet. The only choice would be to go clear out to the eastern side, and I'm not going anywhere towards there."

"We'll just have to try," Cinder snapped. "Because unless you want to start sharing your Dust supply with Neo, she's going to be defenseless, and that means we're more vulnerable. So which is it, Merc: scouting for more Dust or giving that madman your ass on a silver platter?"

Mercury remained silent, and simply went back to punching the sack, an annoyed expression on his face. Cinder looked over and saw Neo looking up at her with thankfulness, but remorse. "Don't worry about it" Cinder mouthed the words to Neo.

Roman plated his egg, then stabbed it with a fork and devoured half of it at once. "So," he said with his mouth full, "Laces, food, medicine, and Dust. Anything else we need?"

"No, that should be it." Cinder replied coolly. "I don't want to be out there longer than we have to be." She glanced around the room. "Roman and Neo can stay here and keep Salem company, and Merc, Em, and I can go out and do some scavenging. Sound like a plan?"

"Sounds good to me," Roman remarked, cramming the other half of his egg in his mouth.

"Dust," Salem suddenly muttered. "Dust Dust Dust Dust Dust Dust Dust."

Mercury rolled his eyes, but Emerald downed the last of her cereal, walked over, and bent down to Salem.

"That's right, Dust. We need Dust." Emerald said calmly, comforting the still rocking Salem.

"Dust," Salem repeated again. "Dust. Nature's wrath in hand, man lit their way through the darkness, and in the shadow's absence came strength, civilization…"

"Oh, shit." Mercury scowled. "You got her rambling again."

"Watch your mouth around her," Cinder barked. Then she calmed. "Em, would you escort Salem back to her room? I have some things I don't want her to hear right now anyway."

Emerald silently nodded, then looked back over to the still talking Salem. "Salem, we're going to go to your cot now, okay? Come on." Emerald slowly stood, gently raising Salem to her feet. The two began to walk out towards the chamber, slowly at first, then gradually speeding up to a careful walk, with Salem continuing her nonsensical ramblings the whole time.

"… A smaller, more honest soul. It's true that a simple spark can ignite hope, breathe fire into the hearts of the weary. The ability to derive strength from hope is undoubtedly mankind's greatest attribute…" Salem's quivering voice slowly faded as she was escorted from the room.

Cinder watched them until they were far enough out of sight, and when Salem's speeches were no longer audible, before sighing once more and turning to the others.

"I have found out," Cinder said quietly, but just loud enough for everyone to hear her, "that the Reaper is in the area."

Neo's eyes widened in shock, and Roman nearly chocked on his cigar.

"What?" Mercury said, raising his voice. "She's here now, and you want us to go out scavenging? Are you out of your fucking mind?"

"Lower your voice!" Cinder said, while ironically also raising her voice. "Salem might hear you."

"Will you forget about Salem for one goddamn second?" Mercury hissed. "First, you want us to go scavenging. Dangerous, but a necessity. I'm down. Then you want us to get Dust. That's going to put us in even more danger, but I guess I can suck it up. But now you're telling us that that lunatic is in the area? No way, sister. I might as well just hang myself now to get it over with."

"Yeah, do us all a favor." Roman sneered. Neo's frightened expression smirked slightly.

"Can it, Torchwick!" Mercury demanded. "We may be tough, but remember last time we had a run-in with the Reaper?" He glared over at Cinder. "You sure do."

That did it. Cinder rushed Mercury, her eye blazing. She grabbed him by the hem of his shirt and slammed him forcibly against the stone wall, hard enough to shake the crate with Emerald's dishes on it.

"Mercury Black, I swear to the gods, if you say one more thing, I'm going to personally rip off your legs and throw you to her myself!" Cinder growled.

Mercury was angered, but knew he was no match for Cinder, at least not in a physical confrontation. He slowly broke eye contact with her and relaxed his muscles, giving out a clear sign of submission and surrender.

Cinder slowly lowered her hand and released Mercury's shirt. She made one last piercing glare right into his eyes, then swiftly turned around and began walking over towards another crate in the corner of the room. As she turned again and sat on the box, Emerald peeked in.

"It's okay, Em." Cinder said, still annoyed. "Did Salem hear any of that?"

"Maybe a little," Emerald replied, walking over to her crate and recovering her dishes. "But not enough to make anything out of it. Besides, she was talking the whole time, so she may have tuned everything else out."

Cinder nodded, but did not say anything. Mercury shook his head disapprovingly.

"Alright," he said. "But we're going to be extra careful this time. And not just your run-of-the mill 'extra ammo, higher alert' kind of careful. I'm talking no one going anywhere alone, keeping your backs to walls, and not staying in one spot for more than a couple seconds. I like to believe that we've been doing well, all things considered. I'd hate for it to end with the Reaper turning us all into mincemeat."

Cinder shook her head. "I understand," she said, "but we don't have much of a choice. We might run out of supplies if we sit and wait for her to leave. We're too low to push it any further, we need to go out today and get what we need if we have any hope of keeping alive down here."

Mercury shook his head again, then turned and resumed punching the salt sack. Emerald slowly walked over to the wash basin and began cleaning her dishes, and Roman dragged the last of his cigar before snuffing it in his makeshift ashtray (half of an old plastic container), blowing a puff of smoke, and walking back towards his room.

"Come on, Neo." Roman said. Neo tightened one last screw, then stood up and skipped over to Roman, following him out of the room.

Cinder stood up as well, and after briefly surveying the room one more time, turned and walked back through the passageway. However, on her way back to her room, she stopped by Salem and Neo's room. She always thought it was ironic that they paired the one that talked too much with the one that could not talk at all.

Cinder quietly entered the room, which was silent. Salem was seated on the floor next to her cot, rocking back and forth, but no longer rambling. She looked up and watched Cinder enter the room and approach her. Cinder sat down on the cot next to Salem.

"I'm sorry," Cinder whispered, just loud enough for Salem to hear. "I never wanted this for you."

Salem eyed Cinder with a confused and nervous look on her face. "Young Cinder…" she muttered.

Cinder grinned slightly. "Hm. You remembered my name today. That's progress, I suppose."


	6. Chapter 2: Into The Waste

**Chapter 2: Into The Waste**

Cinder pocketed one last vial. She really did not want to bring any of their remaining Dust on a scavenging mission, but the truth was, she was worried too.

Mercury watched as she slid the vial into her pant pocket. "I thought we were too short on Dust," he said.

"We are," Cinder replied. "I have a few vials of fire Dust for myself - a private stock, I guess. But they're not for combat necessarily. I mainly carry them around so that if I'm stuck out there at night, I can make a quick fire to keep warm and cook food."

"But you can use them for combat."

Cinder sighed in annoyance. "Yes, I can. But I'd rather not waste Dust like that unless I really need to."

Mercury shot her an unsure glance. "You might have to," he said, "with that maniac up there."

"Like I said, I just heard that she is in the area. I have no idea if that's true or not, or if she's even still here."

"The Reaper's unpredictable," Mercury stated. "She could be standing right above us for all we know."

Cinder gently touched her patch. "Look, I'm worried too. But panicking will get us nowhere. Whether it's waiting her out or going in armed to the teeth with supplies we don't have, neither will benefit us in any way and just lead to us dying sooner. It's a chance I don't want to take, but have to."

Mercury nodded. "She's a monster."

Cinder nodded back. "Yes, she is."

* * *

Cinder, Emerald, Mercury, and Roman grouped together at the steel door leading up to the surface. The door was coated in a thick layer of brown rust, and drops of water fell periodically from the cracked stone ceiling above them.

Roman handed Emerald a flare. "I wouldn't suggest using it with the Reaper and the Lord's forces out there, but you might need it." Roman said. He paused. "On the off chance that you meet up with and beat the Reaper, would you light her on fire with this for me?"

Emerald tried her best to chuckle. "Sure," she said, taking the flare from Roman. She gently placed it in a sleeve on her belt.

Roman nodded towards the others. "You watch yourselves out there," he said. "And remember, extra caution this time around. No heroics or taking chances. Bare minimum. Get what you need and get back. If you can't find what you need, or if it will be too hard to get, ''don't worry about it''. You can always go back out another day."

Cinder and Emerald nodded, Mercury simply turned to the door and pressed his ear to it.

"All quiet," he said. "No Grimm nearby."

"Alright," Roman replied. He walked over and put his hand on the lever that would open the door. Cinder and Emerald turned towards the exit.

"Godspeed," Roman said quickly, then thew the lever. The ancient door slowly creaked open, squealing and groaning in effort and pain. As soon as the opening was wide enough, the trio of scavengers rushed out; Mercury first, Cinder next, and Emerald bringing up the rear. They sprinted through the opening and skidded outside into the pale sunlight. Cinder ducked behind a crumbled wall, and Mercury and Emerald rolled behind a crashed transport.

The door creaked behind them, the opening thinning to a close. The door erupted with a metallic clang as it shut. The sound of the lock falling back into place could be faintly heard, but muffled by the steel.

Cinder peeked out and surveyed the area, checking for any Grimm that could have heard the door and come to investigate. However, other than the cold breeze blowing some dirt and paper, there was no movement.

Cinder glanced over to Emerald and Mercury, who nodded at her. She nodded back, signaling that the coast was clear. Emerald did one last peek to make sure none of the Lord's spies or goons were there, then carefully stood up. Mercury and Cinder followed suit.

Cinder walked over to her allies. "Alright, we've basically gutted that From Dust 'Til Dawn shop dry, but if I remember right, there was an underground cellar storeroom that we hadn't cleared out completely yet. Do we want to give that a go?"

Emerald shrugged. "It's worth a look. I think there might be a restaurant around there too. It might have some food left over."

"I'm sure I can get some string from somewhere for you to use as laces," Mercury added. "But what kind of medicine does Salem need?"

"She's out of the herbal remedy we use to control her emotional outbursts," Cinder replied. "I actually planted some of those herbs in a park garden about a mile east of here, and they should be more than ready."

"Well, the Dust shop and the restaurant are west from here." Mercury said. "And we can't split up, not this time."

"We'll go west first," Emerald said. "Then we can come back, drop off the food and Dust, and go for the herbs. And if we don't get to them today, Salem can wait one more day until we go out to get them."

Cinder nodded. "Alright, west it is then. But no splitting up to hit both places at once; it's slower, but safer."

Emerald pulled out one of her guns, then nodded to Cinder. Cinder pulled her blades out, and began walking west. Mercury followed her, peering over her shoulder as she pointed her blades forward. Emerald remained in the back, walking backwards and with her watchful eyes scanning the areas behind them. Despite the odd formation, they kept a brisk pace, hugging tight to the crumbled and demilitarized walls of the buildings along the road.

The trip was uneventful until they were about a hundred feet from the Dust shop. Cinder raised her blade, signaling danger and for the others to stop. Mercury froze, and Emerald felt him stop and stopped as well.

Cinder motioned ahead, where a large Beowolf was sniffing the ground in front of the Dust shop. Cinder nodded with her head, and the tightly packed trio began to separate. They moved slowly and noiselessly, careful of their footing and observant in case any more Grimm were around.

When they were about twelve feet from each other, Emerald and Mercury slowly stepped forward, creating a rounded line around the Beowolf. It was then that the Beowolf sensed a presence and began to look up.

"Now!" Cinder called, but careful not to be too loud. All three of them rushed the Grimm at the same time, with Cinder and Mercury coming in on its left side and Emerald attacking its rear. The Grimm growled angrily, opening its powerful jaws wide. Cinder reached the Grimm and began rapidly striking its front legs with her blades, carrying them in a graceful, sweeping motion that knocked the limbs off balance.

Mercury propelled himself up, then came down with a falling kick straight to the Beowolf's lower back. The impact slammed the monster down, and, thanks to Cinder's attack, was able to make the beast completely loose balance and land with a thud on the ground.

Emerald then came up behind the Grimm, firing a single shot directly at the Beowolf's eye. The shot found its mark, piercing the monster's eye and erupting t into a foam of black smoke and red blood. Emerald then jumped up as the beast roared in pain, then threw her Kusarigama into the Beowolf's flesh, with both blades impaling just behind the left front limb. Emerald landed back on the ground, then quickly and powerfully yanked her weapons back towards her. The Grimm howled as the blades ran through its body, slashing it completely across the side. Emerald then ran quickly over to the other side of the monster, swung the blades in an awkward motion, then pulled them out. The blades crossed and slashed the Beowolf across its back and down its other side. The blades fell out, clanging to the ground. The Beowolf released one last growl, then dropped its head and died. As blood began to leak from its wounds and onto the concrete below, it suddenly vaporized in a mass of black smoke, leaving nothing but pools of blood in the ground where it laid.

Emerald panted and pulled her chains back in, connecting them back to her weapons and fixing them back into gun mode. She then whirled around, guns ready, preparing for more Grimm to come.

The area was strangely quiet. No Grimm were attracted to the commotion. None of the Lord's forces heard the fight. Most importantly, there was no sign of the Reaper.

Cinder lowered her blades, then breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay," she said. "Let's see what we can get. Mercury, you load up the bag with everything you can carry. I'll help you gather stuff. Em, you watch our backs."

* * *

Mercury slung the bag over his shoulder. They looted both the Dust shop and the restaurant. The Dust shop had a few canisters of Dust hidden in a corner in the cellar, more than they were expecting to find. The restaurant was not as plentiful, as most of the refrigeration had been knocked out and most of the food and drink was spoiled or inedible. However, they managed to find a few loaves of stale bread, some bottles of water, a bottle of wine, a few cans of beans, and a bag of potatoes. All of it fit into Mercury's bag except the potatoes, which Cinder volunteered to carry.

"It's getting dark out," Mercury stated, looking at the sky, which was now painted a red-to-purple gradient from the setting sun. "Sorry we didn't find any laces."

Cinder shook her head. "That's okay, I'll manage. But it looks like we won't be able to get Salem's herbs today."

Emerald put a hand on Cinder's shoulder. "There's always tomorrow. She's been doing better recently, anyway."

Cinder sighed, then swung the potatoes over her shoulder with one hand while gripping one of her blades in the other. "Let's go."

The trio began making their way back towards the hideout, keeping a pace slightly faster than the one they arrived with. Cinder once again led the group with her blade readied, Mercury kept lookout, and Emerald watched the rear. The night winds were starting, blowing dirt and debris into their path along the sides of the buildings. Though the debris was no obstacle, the temperature was beginning to become one, as the sky was darkening and the last remnants of warm sunlight were beginning to fade. The wind added to the chill. Cinder shivered, holding the bag of potatoes on the side of her arm to shield out the frigid gusts.

It was dark by the time they were approaching the hideout. The ruined moon served as the only illumination in the dark. Cinder shivered again, the potatoes no longer able to prevent the wind from piercing her skin. Though her outfit was great for mobility and warm weather, it was a bitch in the cold. Emerald was not doing much better, as she huddled closer to Mercury in an attempt to warm her exposed skin.

Cinder's nose began to run, but she pressed on. "Only one more block to go," she thought to herself. "Almost there."

Then Emerald perked her head up higher, obviously attempting to listen over the blowing wind. Her eyes scanned the area, but she saw nothing.

Cinder heard something next. It was a quick, sudden sound, and did not linger. It was faint, but sounded a bit like a metallic clink. Her preliminary guess was that it was the distant sound of the hideout door, but what reason would Roman, Neo, or Salem have to open it if they had not returned yet?

Then there was another sound, one that all three of them heard. It was a quick sound as well, but it was not distant. It was only a few yards away. It was high-pitched and threatening. It was the distinct sound of a giggle.


	7. Chapter 3: The Reaper

**Chapter 3: The Reaper**

Cinder's eye widened in a look of absolute terror. She froze, completely forgetting about the falling temperatures and beginning to sweat profusely. Mercury and Emerald also froze, with Emerald letting out a short yelp that mostly died in her throat. Mercury began to tremble. Another giggle was heard, very close now. All eyes turned to face the direction it came from.

Before them was an alley, painted completely black by the night sky and buildings' shadows. A flapping sound was now audible, cloth swaying in the nighttime breeze. Then all three heard another sound, but this one was loud, obvious, and long: metal scraping along brick and stone. It was growing louder by the second. It was coming closer.

Cinder managed to free herself from he paralysis just long enough to force a loud, painful gulp down her throat. There was no mistaking it now.

The Reaper had found them.

A third giggle rang out, louder and closer than any of the sounds they heard before. It might has well have been a wicked guffaw. The scraping stopped abruptly, and that's when she stepped into the moonlight.

Rugged, black boots. Torn grey leggings. A small outfit with a skirt, the color of a moonless midnight. A single, silver decoration on her belt: an inverted cross. On her head and around her neck was the most intimidating: a hood and cape; dirty, shredded, blowing in the wind, and covered in blood only a slightly darker shade of red than the rest of it. And under the hood… under the hood…

No one would think that it could strike so much fear. In the night air and covered with the hood, her face could have been interpreted as an empty hole, shadowed to the point of nothingness. That is, of course, except for her mouth. A large grin, filled with blinding white, well-kept teeth. They were the stars in her midnight face, stars of ill-will and horror. The only thing that made those wicked stars more horrible was when they parted to speak.

"Red like roses fills my dreams and leads me to the place you'll die," she squeaked in a singsong voice, punctuating it with another high-pitched, sadistic giggle. Her hands were hidden behind her back, holding her tool, which peeked out from behind her red-cloaked back. The scythe, the massive scythe, its metal a reflective black and red and its blade the same silver as her cross. The blade could almost be mistaken for red at first, as most of it was covered in red splashes and streaks. That was why she was called the Reaper.

The Reaper stepped closer, taking her time, not rushing. She had them right where she wanted them. She kept her head low, shielding out any moonlight from reaching her face. That is, until she was about three yards away from them. Then she raised her head and allowed the hood to crumple behind her neck, brushing her dark hair back as it fell.

Mercury managed a single, shocked word. "R-R-R-Reap-per…"

"Wowie zowie, you're right!" the Reaper suddenly cried happily, her voice sharp, loud, and enthusiastic, yet still carrying the darkness she had a few moments earlier. She swung her hands around to her sides, her right one brandishing her gargantuan weapon. She put one of her left fingers to the side of her mouth. "You're familiar with me, handsome? I mean, most people know about me, but the way you all froze means you must be _really_ familiar with me. Did I kill your family or something?"

"Y-you don't remember us?" Emerald stuttered.

The Reaper shrugged. "Eh, they all get to be the same after a while," she said with a sadistic grin. "I come, they scream, they bleed. I come, they scream, they bleed. Even the few that get away don't faze me much anymore; I'll just get them again eventually." She cocked her head with her grin. "Are you some of the bad little kids who ran away?" She then paused as her grin quickly faded. She stared at Cinder. "Oh dear," she said, "what happened to your eye?"

Cinder trembled, too afraid to say anything else. Whether or not the Reaper knew who they were, she was going to kill them anyway.

The Reaper's grin suddenly returned, wider than ever. "Wait a minute. Did I do that?"

Cinder attempted to respond, but just mumbled slightly.

The Reaper suddenly beamed with smiling energy. "Yeah… I remember you! You were part of that Resistance group trying to escape the bombings!" She looked ready to explode from sadistic glee. "That was a good day. They all came pouring out of the city, and I was waiting. It was like waiting upstream for spawning salmon. Just one prey jumping at me after another."

"I killed a lot of people that day," the Reaper continued enthusiastically, "and hurt a few pretty badly too. I actually remember you, though: I put the other end of Crescent Rose here right into your head." She held her scythe further from her body in a subtle display.

Cinder was beginning to panic. Her breathing was quickening to near hyperventilation, and her socket was beginning to sting even under the patch.

"Speared you like the salmon you were. And then, once I was in, I stirred… and twisted… and pushed… and pulled… then your pink-haired bitch hit me in the face and you got away." The Reaper's expression turned sour extremely quickly. "You wouldn't know where she is, would you?"

Cinder gulped again, this one louder and more painful than the last. "Please," she begged, "Reaper…"

The Reaper's grin grew back faster than it had left. "Oh, please," she interrupted loudly, "we've met before, so we're acquainted. No need for the whole 'Reaper' formality anymore. Call me Ruby." She bowed slightly. "Ruby Rose."

Cinder stuttered a bit, but resumed her thought. "R-Ruby, please, we're not worth your time."

"Oh, it's no bother!" the Reaper gleamed. "Every kill counts, even if I don't remember them all!" She winked. "I get off to the thought and feeling of them every night." She put her finger to her lips. "But shhh, don't tell anyone!"

Emerald began to open her mouth to speak, but Ruby cut her off. "I know what you're going to say. 'Please don't kill us', or 'We just want to stay out of your way', or my favorite, 'Please have mercy! We'll do anything!'. I've heard them all before, sister. And they don't work on me. The only reason I haven't cut all of your faces off yet is because I think you might be able to tell me something before you die." She breathed in sharply, her grin shrinking slightly into a more serious expression, but with that continued evil delight still present. "Where is that ice-cream colored motherfucker?"

Suddenly, before Cinder even had the chance to pause, there was a flash. Not a flash, actually, but a blur. A powerful blur of pink, white and brown. It slammed into Ruby with tremendous force, sending her flying over a dozen feet and making her slam down onto the ground so hard she dropped Crescent Rose. She skidded a few feet on the dirty road before coming to a stop, lying face down on the cracked asphalt.

Neoploitan stood where Ruby the Reaper had been a moment earlier, her parasol open and pointed in the killer's direction. Her eyes were wide with both panic and rage, her footing was wide, and her back was straight and ready for attack.

Ruby threw her hands onto the road on her sides and lifted her head and body up. Despite the fact that her leggings were further shredded and her face had a single bleeding gash, her grin was as demented and large as ever.

"There you are," she grunted. She quickly rose to her feet, reaching out and picking her scythe up off of the ground as she rose. She swung it around and grasped its handle tightly in both hands.

Neo looked over towards Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald, with an expression of concern and panic evident on her face. She motioned her head in the the hideout's direction. It was her only way of telling them to run.

All three of them understood her message, but only Emerald and Mercury ran. Cinder remained frozen in place, staring at Neo.

"Neo, don't!" she managed to say.

Neo gestured again, and this time, Emerald ran back to Cinder. Without saying a word, Emerald grabbed her hand and yanked her away. Cinder's legs involuntarily began sprinting to keep pace with the fleeing Emerald, but her eye remained locked on Neo, who gave her a single look of remorse before turning to face her opponent, her hair swinging over her shoulder. When they were a sufficient distance away, Cinder wrestled out of Emerald's grip and knelt down behind a garbage can, watching the battle. Emerald paused and looked at Cinder as if she were about to say something, but remained silent, turned, and rushed back to the hideout.

"Lots of people have stopped me from finishing a kill," Ruby mused, tightening her grip on her weapon. "And a lot of people have hurt me. But you… that really stung. Remember what you did? Smacked me right in the face with that damned umbrella of yours. I think you broke my nose." She stepped forward. "For that, I'm going to have to tear you in half."

Ruby then sprinted at Neo, swinging her scythe. Neo dodged, and the blade skimmed past her face. She attacked with her parasol, swinging it to block Ruby's incoming barrages and attempting to ram and club her opponent. Ruby hopped away, then brought the scythe down above Neo. Neo's reflexes kicked in, and she opened her parasol above her head at just the right moment, causing the scythe blade to grind against the durable material. Ruby pulled back, then grasped the weapon with both hands behind her back, holding it horizontal. She then began spinning rapidly, causing a vortex of the scythe's massive blade and knifed end. She approached Neo, who stepped back to avoid the oncoming threat, then put her open parasol in between her and the threat as a shield. The parasol only took two or three hits before Ruby changed her approach again, this time swinging Crescent Rose at Neo's unguarded feet. The blade tore through the asphalt and knocked Neo off-balance, allowing Ruby to stab her weapon into the ground and pole vault herself over Neo's defenses. She landed right as Neo regained her balance, swinging again. Neo backflipped away, with the blade just barely missing her, cutting off her pearl necklace that was slightly raised from her body. She escaped the attack, then stood opposite to Ruby as she landed. Ruby smirked, then slammed her blade into the ground. She pulled a trigger on her weapon's handle, and began firing bullets out of the top of the scythe. Neo ran down the street, dodging them. When she curved and reached a building, she pulled out the parasol and blocked the next few shots. Ruby rushed her, rapidly striking the parasol. Neo cringed under the repeated pressure of blocking her attacks, then rammed forward, bashing Ruby with the parasol and forcing her back. Ruby's boots skidded on the asphalt, and she let out an audible grunt of pressure and pain. Neo took the advantage to close the parasol and club Ruby in the gut. Ruby grunted again, keeling over from the blow. Then she removed one of her hands from her weapon and threw a mighty punch. The blow struck Neo square between the eyes, knocking her so hard that she became dizzy and spun around. She held her head in her hand, her legs off balance, and unaware that her back was to the Reaper.

Cinder yelped aloud at what happened next. The massive blade of the scythe suddenly burst through Neo's gut. Her pink and brown eyes widened and her mouth flew open in a silent scream of agony. Red blood burst from Neo's stomach, completely coating the scythe blade and splattering like rain onto the dark street. It reflected the pale moonlight, turning the blade and the ground into gruesome crimson mirrors. Ruby chuckled, then lifted the scythe blade up. Neo grasped the blade that had impaled her as her feet were removed from the ground and as the pain grew. Ruby held Neo, impaled through the gut, aloft on her scythe blade.

"Just another worm on my hook," Ruby growled happily.

Blood began to spill from Neo's mouth as she began to gag and choke, obviously having trouble breathing. Her eyes stared up at the night sky, both wide and pale.

Cinder was tearing up. Her heart was racing a million miles a second. The knees she had been kneeling on felt no longer capable of supporting her weight. Her entire body trembled and her throat choked up, but she could not even cry in grief. She was frozen in pain and disbelief.

Ruby smirked again, then suddenly twisted and shifted her scythe. The incision that she had made through Neo's body suddenly expanded, and Ruby swung vertically in a rapid fashion. There were more bursts of blood, this time down Neo's entire body. Her eyes glazed over, her mouth filled with blood, and she fell. But she fell in two pieces: her left side and her right side, split almost perfectly down the middle, collapsing and crumpling to the ground. As soon as they struck, they splattered more blood to the already gargantuan puddles on the ground and spewed the bones and organs inside of them into the needlessly spilled liquid.

Cinder then found the energy to move again, and she used it to duck behind the trash can completely, hiding herself. She could barely see, her eye was so full of salty tears that stung and obscured her vision. She gagged, with each second she sat there creating images of Neo's mutilated corpse on the ground. She held her hand to her mouth, then jumped up and ran. She did not even look behind to see if the Reaper was chasing her. She ran down the dark streets, blinded by tears, until she somehow found her way back to the metal door of the hideout. She exhausted the last of her energy to bang on the door, then collapsed to her knees and vomited all over the ground. She was so distressed that she did not even hear the loud door open, only Roman and Emerald's shouting as they grabbed her arms and pulled her inside. Cinder had just made it past the door when Mercury slammed it shut.

"Cinder!" Roman's voice called. Cinder could barely hear it, even though he stood directly above her. The sting in her eye, the taste in her mouth, the chill in her skin, the pain in her heart… they were too overpowering.

"Cinder!" Roman called again. "Where's Neo? Where is Neo?"

Not that question. Anything but that question.

"Neo…" Cinder replied shakily, "Neo is dead."


	8. Chapter 4: Bad to Worse

**Chapter 4: Bad to Worse**

The transport hummed loudly as it zoomed through the skies over Vale. The pilot checked his readings, then turned to his copilot.

"Everything's good here. You can go back and tell the boss we'll be arriving on schedule, no interruptions," he said.

"Aye, sir," the copilot said. He switched all control to the pilot, then quickly rose from his seat and began a brisk pace out of the cockpit and out into the passenger section of the ship.

The ship was small, but lavishly fancy, with a stainless white interior that shone like polished marble. During the day, when the sun hit it just right, the entire cabin would be illuminated with a vibrant glow. There were few seats, but every one of them was made from the finest and most expensive smooth black leather, and seated before polished granite tabletops. The bar was located towards the back, filled with drinks (both alcoholic and not) of every sort on almost invisible glass shelves.

At the center of this luxurious transport was the massive white seat. Employees and servants liked to call it a "throne", though the boss' actual throne was back at company headquarters in Atlas.

The boss was seated in the throne, her legs crossed and her face resting on a tight fist. Her ever-permanent frown remained as hard and as uninviting as ever, while her ice-cold blue eyes peered emotionless out one of the spotless windows, observing the night sky and the gleaming stars.

She huffed. Stars. What stupid, trivial things. She had no problem with their existence, there was nothing even she could do about that. She hated how the peasants, hell, even the elite, treated them. They stare at the stars like they are the ultimate unachievable goal, like they are distant rays of hope. Some are even dumb enough to wish upon them. But she saw stars for what they were: cold, distant, and utterly useless specks of light that meant nothing to anyone, and were inspirations of false hope. Why look to the stars when you should be focused on what's in front of you? Idiots.

She was so lost in thought that she did not even notice the copilot emerge from the cockpit until he was almost at her feet. As per her orders, he knelt.

"Madame Schnee, we are almost to our destination and are on schedule," he said. "We will arrive shortly."

She sighed. "Good. Make doubly sure he told his cronies we are coming. We don't want a repeat of last time."

The copilot nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

Weiss Schnee waved her hand. "You are dismissed."

The copilot rose, then bowed. "Thank you, Madame Schnee." He then clicked his heels and turned sharply back to the cockpit, soon vanishing back inside.

Weiss sighed again, having not removed her eyes from the windows during the entire exchange.

Stars.

* * *

It had been a pretty good day.

Not as good as she planned, but still pretty damn good. She not only got to kill someone, but it was someone she had wanted to kill for a long time. Not only that, but she killed her in such a gruesome way! She even said she would "slice her in half". What are the odds that that would actually be how she died?

Ruby chuckled at the thought. So what if she lost the others? She would just have to get them later. But killing that ice cream girl (What was her name again? Rocky Road or Cupcake or something?) was enough to satisfy her for the night. She could have probably floated home she was so happy and excited. She'd get to clean Crescent Rose (that was one of her favorite pastimes) and just drool over how satisfying that kill had been.

It had been a pretty damn good day.

Ruby was modest when it came to living conditions; she did not need much to please her. A little abandoned shack of a house was all she needed while she was visiting Vale. It was dark, dirty, decrepit, and depressing. Just the way she liked it. It was a bit far from where she had encountered those survivors, but she decided she could use the exercise.

Ruby skipped up to the worn wooden door. She turned the handle and quickly opened it, hopping inside and slamming the door behind her. She hoped it would attract Grimm.

The first thing she heard after the slam was the clinking of a chain, then a low moaning.

"I'm home!" Ruby yelled, her mouth in a massive happy grin and her eyes scrunched into an evil stare. She sloppily folded up Crescent Rose just so she could fit it through the doorway, when skipped into the adjacent room.

"M-m-m-istress…" the voice on the other end of the room gasped. The speaker's raspy voice reflected her damaged and choked throat. The chain clinked again, as the speaker pushed themselves against the wall in a cowering, shaken position.

"Yep yep," Ruby said. "What a day, what a day, what a day."

She fell lazily onto the abandoned couch in the center of the room. Some loving family probably watched television here before the bombings. Or some dirty hobo, she had no idea. She quickly opened her scythe, its metallic parts clinking and clanking into place. The other person cowered further down.

Ruby reached over next to the couch and grabbed her bottle of cleaner and a rag. She unscrewed the cap, then dumped a generous amount onto the dirty scrap of paper. She took a brief moment to take in the smell: that beautiful, toxic smell, before positioning the scythe blade just in front of her, sticking up vertically. Careful of the edge, she slowly began stroking the metal with the rag, smearing the blood and beginning to dilute it.

As she wiped her blade, she happened to glance at her feet. Her boots were covered in a thick coat of her victim's blood. While bloody boots could be a pretty intimidating fashion statement, she decided against it.

"Slave!" She suddenly cried, startling the other and causing her to jump. She opened her mouth and was about to answer, but wheezed. Her throat hurt too much. The collar was too tight.

Ruby's silver eyes suddenly snapped over to her captive in a look of disgust and fury. "Yang Xiao Long, I am fucking talking to you! Answer me right fucking now!"

The other choked and gasped, but swallowed and managed a loud whisper. "Y-y-yes, Mis-s-stress?"

Ruby's wild eyes drifted back to her work. "My boots are dirty. Clean them. You know how."

Yang wheezed. She groaned in agony as she scooted along the floor in an attempt to find her slaver. The chain rattled as she extended it away from its anchor point.

"Come on, hurry up!" Ruby yelled again. "It's not like you need eyes to find my feet, they're on the ground with you!"

Yang scooted closer to the source of the voice. It was her only way to navigate in her world on permanent darkness. She could not even reach out with her arms to feel around. Ruby took those too.

Finally, she felt contact with Ruby's foot knocking into her head. She struggled to raise herself from the ground, as without arms it all had to be done in her abdomen. She twisted and wriggled until she was positioned in front of Ruby's boots, her head raised above them. Even without her eyes, she could feel Ruby's impatient and judgmental stare beating down on her.

Slowly, Yang extended her sore tongue and gently placed it onto Ruby's boot. The taste was disgusting; dirt, blood, and foul-smelling fabric. However, she had a duty to do. She ran her tongue across the boot, licking until the taste of blood dissipated, then pulled back and licked again.

Ruby smirked. Pathetic. Her once strong and powerful sister, reduced to this. It was so pleasing. She made Yang her little slave bitch the moment she cut off her arms and eyes. And that was right after she had killed her parents. Now that was a good day.

Ruby focused her attention back to her weapon, rubbing out the blood with the rag as Yang continued to lick the spilled blood and dirt off of her boots. Killing might be her favorite hobby, but the routine after the kill was not too bad either.

It really had been a fucking good day.

* * *

Cinder sat with her head in her hands, covering her eye. Every time she thought she had stopped crying, she would remember poor Neopolitan and begin to weep again. Emerald and Mercury had been conversing about potentially going to get her body and burying her. Roman, after hearing the news, went away to be by himself. No one had heard from him or seen him since then except for a single bang on the chamber wall coming from his room. No one had told Salem yet; she was fast asleep on her cot and no one wanted to wake her. She was not going to take it well, that everyone knew.

Despite the fact that she never spoke, Neo had been a good friend and a faithful ally. She defended the group and was easily their go-to for combat purposes, but outside of that, she was so sweet and innocent. She seemed to be the one who loved Salem the most; sharing the same room, helping her with her medicine, and calming her down when she got disturbed. Neo was the kind of person you could always count on to put others before herself. Cinder even suspected that she and Roman may have been romantically interested in each other, but this was never confirmed.

And now she was gone.

If it was the Lord who had taken her freedom, it was Ruby Rose, the Reaper, who had taken her soul. She had taken her eye. Then her safety. Then Neo. She had taken what remained of her hope and crushed it like brittle stone. Ruby was truly a monster.

Cinder slowly removed her hands from her face. Her vision was blurry, and her hands were soaking wet. She slowly rose to her feet, then sluggishly wandered out of the room and down the chamber towards her room. She did not even try to avoid the dripping water; she walked right underneath it, soaking her ashen hair and letting it run down her face, merging with her salty tears.

On her way to her room, she passed Salem and Neo's room and paused to look inside. Salem was curled up under a blanket on her cot, her eyes shut tight in a deep sleep. Across the way lay Neo's empty cot, with the blanket folded nicely on top. A small purse, full of Neo's private belongings, sat hauntingly next to the cot. Cinder knew that most of the items within would never be used again.

As she turned to leave, Cinder heard Salem stir. "Neo?" her voice asked hoarsely.

Cinder choked up again, hearing Salem's silent, unknowing call to her friend that would not be answered. The chamber and room was deathly quiet until Salem sighed and settled back down.

Cinder walked slowly to her room. She took her time across the cold stone floor and sat disheartened on her cot. Emerald was not in yet, but Cinder did not feel like waiting up. She did not even bother to remove her clothes or dry her wet hair and face. She just kicked off her boots, rolled over onto the cot, pulled the blanket up, and stared at the wall before her.

She had already fallen asleep when Emerald came in.


	9. Chapter 5: Thrill of the Hunt

**Chapter 5: Thrill of the Hunt**

He kept his eyes on the transport as it hovered over the landing platform, preparing to land. He scanned and observed every minute detail of its process, constantly alert for any type of danger or mishap. His partner stood beside him, also eying the ship closely, her eyes squinted in a suspicious, vigilant stare.

The ship slowly set down, the metal clanking and settling loudly. However, the metal carried a high-pitched, musical tone to it as it touched down. He mentally rolled his eyes. This bitch had to make everything extravagant, even her outer plating and framework.

It was only a few seconds before the transport's door hissed open, dropping gracefully to the ground and touching down quietly. With the door now a ramp to the platform, the figures inside began to march out: a tight gathering of four or five heavily armored bodyguards around the guest, who held her head high and kept her footing graceful and stiff. She looked down her nose at him and his partner, then waved her pale hand slightly. The guards all took large steps away from her, giving her room to confront him without leaving her unprotected.

"So, you remembered I was coming this time, Arc," Weiss said coldly. She began to walk down the trail to the main building.

He narrowed his eyes, but followed alongside her; her on his right, his partner on his left. He snorted.

"Yes, Ms. Schnee. When I promised you that the incident from before would not happen again, I meant it," he said.

Weiss scoffed. "I would hope not. Being misinformed is one thing, not knowing of my arrival and targeting my ship as an intruder is quite another. It was most undignified."

Jaune Arc snickered slightly. "I said I was sorry. What more do you want from me, Ice Queen?"

Weiss rapidly turned her head towards him in a furious glare. "How dare you address me in such a matter!" She turned back to watching her path. "I suppose the Lord needs to better train his dogs before he lets them off the leash."

Jaune's partner, who had stayed quiet for the entirety of the exchange, but was becoming increasingly frustrated during it all, finally spoke up, and was not subtle about her response.

"Hey!" she shouted. Both Jaune and Weiss turned to observe her. She sneered. "We may serve the Lord, but we do not serve you. You best mind your tongue when speaking about us or the Lord!"

Weiss stopped dead in her tracks. The guards all turned their weapons towards Jaune's partner. Weiss' nostrils flared from rage, and her usually cold eyes blazed.

"You _dare_?" she exclaimed. She put one hand on her sheathed rapier, which sat idle on her belt. "I have every right to skin you alive right now!"

Jaune's partner reached for the spear on her back. "You may have power in Atlas, Schnee. But here you are the same as us: a servant of the Lord, and you will act as such!"

As the two's eyes met and burned, Jaune suddenly stepped in the middle of the confrontation. "Ladies, please!" he said, holding his arms in both of their directions. "We are all allies here. Save your squabbles for when you have reasons to fight."

Weiss quickly moved her hand away from her rapier, and the guards lowered their guns. She huffed furiously, then swiftly turned, flipping her hair and continuing down her path.

"Know your place, Nikos," she spat bitterly.

Jaune's partner slowly pulled away from her weapon, still glaring at the icy leader. She scoffed, then looked at Jaune. "I could have taken her."

Jaune shook his head. "I have no doubt," he said, trailing the bitter queen, "but as much as we hate to admit it, we need her." He smirked. "We'll be back in action again in no time, Pyrrha."

Pyrrha huffed again, then followed Jaune.

* * *

Weiss marched into the chamber, with Jaune and Pyrrha following closely behind. She waved her hand, and her bodyguards rapidly dispersed, marching in formation out of the chamber and into the hallway behind them. The three came to a stop, then all simultaneously knelt.

"Lord Ozpin," Weiss said, her voice carrying a much more humble and submissive tone then before. "You summoned me."

All was quiet for a moment, then the shadowy figure at the other end of the room spoke. "Rise, all of you," it said is a sophisticated, but dark voice.

Weiss, Jaune, and Pyrrha complied, rising to their feet, standing straight, and looking compliantly towards the figure.

The shadowed figure was sitting behind a large desk, illuminated by the moon in the windows behind it. It stood as well, made its way around the desk, and stepped before them into the light.

Lord Ozpin. The man was truly a legend as much as he was a lord, and his appearance reflected that: hearty, but expensive fabrics of black, green, and gold surrounded his body, forming a regal black uniform with golden buttons, green uniform pants, shiny black boots, and a green neckpiece. Before his evil brown eyes sat a small pair of spectacles, darker than the rest of the blacks on his attire; completely void of light or color.

"I am pleased to see you arrived safely," Lord Ozpin said to Weiss, looking down at the young girl. "I trust your trip was an uneventful one?" Though his words carried the illusion of kindness, his voice carried the air of seriousness, displeasure, and cruelty. Weiss knew she meant nothing to him, even as an ally.

"For the most part," she remarked, attempting to remain strong before a man she feared so much. "The landing was a little unpleasant, I'm afraid." Jaune and Pyrrha narrowed their eyes.

"Pity," Lord Ozpin hissed, venom dripping from the word. "But what matters is that you are here now." He moved past her, looking to the wall behind her.

"Your Dust shipments have been reaching us here on time," the Lord continued. "My Huntsmen and Huntresses have been _very_ appreciative of your business."

Jaune and Pyrrha smirked. They used Dust from Schnee's company with their weapons, making them more deadly killers.

"I am pleased to hear that," Weiss commented, still attempting to remain defiant before the powerful Lord and his bloodthirsty minions.

"However," Lord Ozpin suddenly said, wiping the grins from his Huntsman and Huntress, "a few shipments had some thefts. Scavengers and scum from the wastelands, no doubt."

Weiss gulped. "My Lord, these things will happen. It's not as if they, with their pathetic resistance and disgusting defiance, could ever hope to overpower you, even with some Dust. Certainly-"

"That is not the point." Ozpin cut her off loudly, starling her and causing her to freeze. He turned around and walked past her to his desk. "What they do with the Dust is of little concern to me. It is the actions, the very thefts, Schnee, that insult me. They think it is a mark against us. They think they can take and go unpunished."

He turned quickly back to Weiss, beating her down with a horrific, crippling stare. "They cannot do anything with that Dust but survive against the Grimm, each other, or that freak in the red hood another day. But I do not want them to survive, Schnee. I want them to be punished for their crimes." He stepped forward. "I trust that you will make the effort to better guard your shipments?"

Weiss gulped again. "Certainly, my Lord. We shall double our security."

Lord Ozpin removed his dark gaze from her, turning back and walking behind his desk again. "And one more thing," he said, sitting back into his chair. "Since it is your cargo that is being stolen, I trust that you will take the necessary actions to grant my wish. I am tasking you and your forces to aid my Huntsmen and Huntresses in the eradication of this scavenger resistance. Use whatever means you deem necessary: your money, your influence, your physical forces, I do not care." He leaned forward menacingly. "Do not disappoint me."

Weiss shivered, but did her best to hide it. "As you wish, my Lord."

Lord Ozpin leaned back in his chair, once again cloaking himself in shadows. "You are all dismissed."

Weiss, Jaune, and Pyrrha all bowed, then abruptly turned and marched out of the chamber.

* * *

The Huntsman and Huntress watched as Weiss once again boarded her ship and took off. They looked to each other, each getting a glimmer in their eyes. They marched back towards the main building, passing the guards and even other Huntsmen. They continued walking side-by-side until they reached a secluded corner of the building. They turned the corner and rapidly walked inside of a broom closet, with Jaune quickly closing the door behind them.

Once he turned around, he was embraced. Pyrrha forced her lips onto his, pushing his head back and bumping into the door. Jaune returned the favor, pressing up against her and wrapping his armored arms around her torso, pulling her warm body close in a seductive hold. The two closed their eyes tightly as their tongues explored each other's mouths, with Pyrrha clamping her arms around Jaune's lower back as his hands gently caressed her back and sides, exploring her feminine form.

After a near minute of making out, the two pulled away, gasping for air. Pyrrha looked deeply into Jaune's blue eyes. She smiled.

"Soon," she said in between breaths, "we'll be out there fighting again, side by side."

Jaune grinned. "I know. I can't wait. We'll kill those resistance freaks with the power of our connection, our teamwork, our love."

Pyrrha's smile fell. "Be careful," she said. "If any of the others, or even worse, Lord Ozpin, found out about us, we would both be killed."

Jaune placed his thumb and index finger on his lover's chin. "Don't worry, my love," he mused. "No one will ever find out. Even Lord Ozpin, with all of his power, cannot stop us from being together."

Pyrrha nodded. "Yes, but he can sure make it difficult at times."

"Well, yes," Jaune agreed, "but that won't stop us. You and I are in this until the end."

Pyrrha grinned again and laid her head down on Jaune's strong shoulder. "What do you think about Schnee doing our job with us?"

Jaune scoffed. "I trust that bitch about as far as I could throw her, but she won't be a bother." He cuddled and held Pyrrha close. "She may be tough, but should she become too much of a problem, I could always let you cut her head off. We could tell Lord Ozpin it was the Reaper."

Pyrrha's grin grew, and she snuggled in closer to her lover. "I like the sound of that," she said. "But we still do need her for the time being, so we'll let her live."

Jaune looked over at her. "Whatever happens…"

Pyrrha looked overt to him. "…at least we'll be together," she finished.

They kissed again.


	10. Chapter 6: Corpses

**Chapter 6: Corpses**

This morning was cold.

The skies were caked in thick grey clouds, covering the sun and blocking off its warmth and light. Over the ground was a dense fog, coating the buildings and ruins in a chilling dew and lowering the already cold temperatures.

And it was so quiet. Uncomfortably quiet.

Cinder, Roman, and Mercury were out in the grey wasteland, sneaking silently down the streets towards their destination from the day before. Roman had demanded he come on this mission. The three of them were going to find what was left of Neo's body and give her proper burial.

Emerald had stayed behind to be with Salem. Earlier that morning, Cinder and Mercury recovered the medicinal herbs, so Emerald would be able to take care of Salem. They also unanimously decided that Salem had to know what had happened, and since Roman demanded he go on the mission, Emerald volunteered to give Salem the bad news. While she was sad that she could not help Salem, Cinder was almost relieved that she would not have to see Salem's reaction. She worried for Emerald, however.

Roman said nothing the entire time they had walked. He remained an emotionless statue, his eyes fixed forward towards his destination. Cinder pitied him, and did not want to see his reaction either. She also wondered how much of Neo was left. No doubt the Grimm had gotten to her, if the Reaper had not done something with her. Neo did not deserve this.

Neo did not deserve this.

It was not long until the three of them reached the area where the fight had taken place. Cinder squinted, struggling to see through the fog. She kept her eye scanning all around for Grimm, or worse, the Reaper returning. It was when she glanced at the ground that she saw the red puddle through the haze. Roman was the next to see it. He made audible chocking sounds as the gruesome sight came into view.

Though not untouched, Neo's mutilated corpse laid there, crumbled and bloodied. Her right leg was missing; most likely gnawed off by a small Grimm. Both halves of her were coated in wet dew and dry blood, her organs stiff and lifeless on the street.

Then there was her eye. One half of her was facing a different direction, so Cinder could only see the front of one. But oh gods, the eye. It was a pale white, only slightly differently colored than the rest of her glossed-over sclera. It stared blankly, horrifically, ahead, motionless over a half of a bloodied, gaping mouth.

Roman gagged a bit, but broke off from the others and walked over the the horror. He knelt down slowly, placing his hand gently over Neo's mutilated head and shutting the staring eye. He scooted over to the other half and did the same with the other. Then he bowed his head, his hat covering his face, and sat there in silence.

Cinder and Mercury looked on. They could not tell if Roman was crying or not. However, Cinder was nudged by Mercury, who motioned towards a dirt patch on the side of the road. Cinder understood his call and walked over to it. She stabbed her swords into the ground and scooped up a heap of dirt, hurling it out. Mercury dug with his hands.

It took about an hour to dig the cold earth out just enough for a shallow grave. Cinder and Mercury had been so invested in their work that they had forgotten about Roman, who had taken upon himself the heartbreaking and gruesome task of collecting almost every single bit of Neo's spilled body and gathering it in a large bag, wrapping the two sides of her body together as one again within the black packaging.

When everyone was finished with their respective tasks, all of them carried Neo's wrapped body to the grave and gently placed it inside. Roman knelt down once more, looking into the hole that held his partner's body.

"You never deserved this," Roman said aloud, his voice hoarse and sad. "Any of this. No tyranny, no bombings, no wars… you were too pure for that. But within that sweetness burned a fire of compassion, of love, and of justice. When things were at their worst, you were there to help us. When we needed to fight, you fought. When we needed to cry, you lent us your shoulder. When we needed to believe, you gave us hope." He lifted his head slightly, revealing his blood-shot eyes. "I can only hope that, wherever you are, the God of Light is celebrating your arrival. Because if there was anyone that could make paradise brighter, it's you, Neopolitan." He choked again, but swallowed loudly. "Goodbye."

Cinder wiped the tears from her eye as Roman grabbed a handful of dirt and slowly poured it into the grave. Then he turned, holding his head low, and slowly walked away. Cinder walked up to the grave to say her own words, though nothing she could say would top Roman's eulogy.

"I don't think I ever told you how important you were to us," Cinder said melancholily. She sniffled. "If we needed someone, you were the person to go to. I should have told you that." Her tears welled up. She began to cry, bitter tears running from her one eye. "I should have told you that." Cinder stepped back.

Mercury stepped forward next, his expression somber. "You were too good for this," he said. "And I swear, right now, on your grave, this one promise: I will kill Ruby Rose."

Cinder glanced up in disbelief at Mercury. She was about to tell him not to make a promise he could not keep, but now did not seem like the best time. She instead watched him as he began scooping dirt and placing it back in the hole. Cinder wiped away her tears then grabbed her swords and aided him. It was only a few minutes before the hole was filed. Neo has been given her burial.

Cinder found a stone nearby and planted it at the hole as a headstone. She did not have the tools to write full sentences or even Neo's name, but instead took one of her swords and carefully carved Neo's emblem into the stone. It was as good a marker as hey were going to get. Cinder, Mercury, and Roman stood over the grave, staring down at the dirt, wondering what to do next.

Suddenly, Cinder heard a loud scraping, coming closer to them with every scrape. She instantly panicked, and judging by the way Mercury and Roman reacted, they heard it too. The scraping was definitely metallic, but came from low on the ground. Cinder brandished her swords, and she and Roman slowly began to back away from the sound. She was sure the Reaper had found them again.

Mercury, however, stayed still, and put up his fists in preparation for a battle. Cinder looked at him with frightened concern.

"Mercury, no!" she squealed.

The next moment, she saw a silhouetted figure lurching out from the fog. It grew closer, and Cinder and Roman backed up again, not wanting to leave Mercury behind. That is when Cinder noticed that the silhouette was much taller than the Reaper, and not carrying a scythe. It was cloaked in black clothing, but was dragging a sword on the ground with a bright red blade. The figure dripped blood as it approached them, eventually becoming clear through the fog.

Cinder gasped at the sight. She actually knew who this person was, and they were not a threat (at least to them). It was a face she never thought she would ever see in person. She lowered her weapons as the wounded warrior continued to limp forward, dragging their sword across the ground, without the strength to lift it.

Mercury noticed the figure's identity too. "Is that…" he said, "Adam Taurus?"

* * *

She stomped her foot. This kind of incompetence would not be tolerated.

She continued to pace back and forth, her hands gripped into tight fists at her sides. She could hear her forces scrambling around outside of the tent, desperately trying to find something, anything, to do about their problem. She grunted in frustration as the tent's opening was pulled back.

Ilia stood there in the opening, holding the tent flap wide. "Ma'am, we cannot find any sign of him in the nearby woods,' she said, out of breath. "But we injured him pretty badly; he couldn't have gotten far."

She turned and slammed her fists down on the map table behind her. "I know him," she growled. "He's probably gotten further than you know." She straightened up, took a deep breath, and shut her eyes tightly. "We will proceed with our current course," she said. "But make no mistake, we will ''not'' stop looking for him until he is found. And tell the troops I demand to have him ''alive''. If someone kills Adam Taurus, they will suffer the same fate I have planned for him."

Ilia nodded. "Yes, ma'am." She then turned and dropped the tent flap, letting it fall and close as she ran from the tent.

With a huff, she looked down at the map she had slammed down on a moment before, analyzing the terrain and their location. She would find him.

"Where are you?" Blake Belladonna muttered to herself.


	11. Chapter 7: Patchwork Trust

**Chapter 7: Patchwork Trust**

Jaune secured his wrist guard, ensuring the armor piece was fastened tight. Pyrrha pulled on her plated boot, then stood. The two loomed into each others' eyes briefly, then set off for the departure bay. They walked silently, with nothing but their heavy boots clinking on the cold ground as they walked.

Jaune was the first to speak. "So I found out the Huntsmen that'll be joining us."

Pyrrha cocked her head and gave Jaune a look of despair. "Don't tell me."

Jaune nodded. "Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie."

Pyrrha sighed loudly. "Ugh. I hate those two. Why do we always get mixed with them?"

Jaune nodded again. "I can at least say their both good fighters and are at least loyal to Lord Ozpin," he said. "But Lie is such a downer and takes everything so damn seriously. It's like he doesn't even enjoy what he does."

Pyrrha shrugged. "At least he's not Nora. I swear, she's not all there. I mean, we've fought some absolute wackos from the Resistance, but she's mental."

"You notice how she just gushes over Lie like they're lovey-dovey?"

"How could you miss it? She's obsessed with him, but he hates her guts. All I can say is that I secretly hope Lord Ozpin sees her doing that and throws her to his Grimm."

Jaune grinned. "Any Huntsman of Huntress knows that love is forbidden in this profession. The least she could do is keep it a godsdamned secret."

Pyrrha grinned back at him. "I told you, not all there. She's cookoo."

The conversation ended as the two entered the docking bay, where a massive Bullhead ship was waiting. Outside of it was a man, cloaked in green robes, with cloth covering his face. Next to him was a woman in a dyed pink combat shirt and white combat skirt.

"It's about time you two showed up," a gruff voice said under the cloth.

"Yeah, Ren and I have been waiting for like forever!" The pink one said.

"Tough shit," said Jaune. "Now, are you going to continue bitching or are you going to get on the motherfucking ship?"

Lie Ren's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing. Then he briskly stood up and walked into the Bullhead.

Nora skipped behind him. "Wait for me, Senpai!" she whistled.

Jaune and Pyrrha looked at each other in disgust.

"Cookoo," Pyrrha said.

* * *

Adam shivered as Emerald wrapped another cloth blanket around him. He slowly reached up and felt the cotton bandage strapped to his head, which was soaked through with blood.

"I'll go get you another bandage," Emerald said. She eyed him closely, then hurried to another room.

"Thank you for this," Adam shuddered aloud, addressing Cinder, Mercury, Roman, and Salem, who were in the room with him. "I wasn't going to make it much further."

Mercury pointed at him. "I thought you were dead."

Adam shook his head. "No. When Blake Belladonna usurped the White Fang from me, I played the villain and pretended to be on her side. Truth is, I was working with the Resistance the whole time. When she found out, she…" He choked on his words, like they were bitter.

"Wait," said Cinder. "You're with the Rebellion?"

Adam nodded. "Yes. I joined up after the bombing of Vale. I should have joined sooner."

"We're Resistance too," Cinder said.

Adam looked at her, though she could not see his eyes through his mask, which sat idly on his face, just covering his eyes and forehead.

"Really?" He sounded shocked and disappointed. "I thought the Resistance was doing better than this." He glanced around. "No offense."

"None taken," Roman huffed.

Cinder sighed. "I'm afraid not. In fact, the woman in the corner over there is Salem."

Adam looked over to her. "Salem? The leader of the Resistance? I thought she was dead."

Cinder shook her head. "No, but the bombing of Vale hurt her. Badly. She's not who she used to be mentally."

Mercury interrupted. "Taurus, you said you were working undercover with the Resistance. Who did you have contact with? They're aren't much of us outside of what you've seen here."

Adam lowered his head. "My contacts were named Tyrian Callows and Hazel Rainart."

Cinder's eyebrows raised. "They're with us. They left a few months ago to seek out more members and try to establish some kind of settlement outside of Vale. What did you hear from them?"

Adam shook his head. "Unfortunately, not much. I think I did hear about those settlement plans, though. Something about Patch."

Everyone looked surprised. "Patch?" Roman said, confused. "That little island west of here? What sense would it make to put settlements or headquarters there?"

"Yeah," continued Mercury, "and Signal Academy is there too. That's where they take all of the kids they've kidnapped and start their training to become Huntsmen and Huntresses before they send them here to Beacon Fortress. That island's crawling with Lord Ozpin's goons."

"Not to mention that's where the Reaper used to live," Emerald chimed in, walking into the room with a damp bandage. She bent down to Adam and began replacing his blood-soaked bandage.

"Look, I'm just telling you what I heard." Adam said. He hissed in pain as Emerald pressed the bandage to his wound. "I just kind of took care of trade route stuff and made sure they could get back and forth through the White Fang-controlled area. My last contact was with Hazel before Blake found out. He got away unharmed, I wasn't so lucky."

Cinder's brow furrowed. "Why would Blake care that you were working with the Rebellion?"

Adam sighed. "Mostly because you're not all Faunus. That Tyrian dude is a Faunus, but she considers any Faunus not a part of the White Fang a traitor that deserves to die like humans. It doesn't matter if they're neutral, Resistance, Huntsman or Huntress." He grunted in agony as Emerald tightened his bandage. "Blake and the White Fang have no love for Lord Ozpin or his regime, but they hate the Resistance too. Basically, if you are not White Fang, they want you dead."

Roman huffed again. "And I suppose you were the one who taught them that? You led them."

Adam shook his head. "I wanted a sanctuary for Faunus. I wanted a community where we could be ourselves, and peacefully bring about good relations with humans. But after Lord Ozpin's regime pushed, they got desperate, and Blake usurped the White Fang from me. She turned them into a cult. She turned them into animals." He groaned. "They aren't Faunus anymore. They're below people, just like the Huntsmen and Huntresses they hate. They're monsters."

He looked up at Cinder and the others. "Do you know why I called it the White Fang? Because, as animal-like creatures, we can have fangs. But our fangs were supposed to be clean, white, free of blood. When Blake took over, she stained those fangs. She turned them red."

Cinder took the speech in, but said nothing.

Adam cleared his throat. "Thank you for your hospitality," he said. "I promise, as soon as I am well enough, I will go."

Cinder raised her eyebrows. "Go? You're Resistance. You're with us."

Adam shook his masked head. "I can't stay. Blake and the White Fang are no doubt looking for me. If they find me here, they'll find you. Seeing as how none of you are Faunus or a part of the White Fang, you'll all be killed too. Then that would be the end of the Resistance. No, I can't put you in danger."

Cinder shook her head. "No. We're all in danger anyway. I'm not sending you out with the White Fang, Grimm, and Reaper out there."

She turned and began walking back to her room. "Get him a cot," she yelled to the others.

As she walked away, she faintly heard Adam say, "Did she say the Reaper was here?"


	12. Chapter 8: Boots on the Ground

**Chapter 8: Boots on the Ground**

The ship landed in a deserted parking lot. The metal clanked as the vessel settled, then hissed steam as it decompressed. The door opened, and the ramp extended. Jaune stepped out onto the ramp, surveying the location. The sky was coated in a thick layer of grey clouds, making everything dark. If he were not used to this, he would have assumed night was coming. All around him were the tattered remains of buildings, burned and crumbling from the bombings so long ago. Jaune breathed in deeply through his nose. The air was rank and cold. It was pathetic.

He started quickly down the ramp, with Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren following close behind. He kept his blue eyes on his footing, careful not to slip on the ramp, which was collecting moisture from the air and becoming slick. As soon as his boots met the cracked asphalt, he looked back up, and was surprised to see who was standing there.

Weiss Schnee had her arms crossed and her ever-permanent frown plastered on her face. Her cold eyes stared down at him. She was not dressed in her regal costumes or elegant gowns, but instead a tight, bright white military uniform decorated with some medals and ribbons. On her belt was a silver rapier, engraved with luxurious swirled designers. She was admittedly attractive.

Jaune cleared his throat. "I knew you were coming with us, but I figured you'd just be providing us with Dust."

Weiss scoffed. "Contrary to what your tiny mind might believe, I am not just Dust and dresses." She placed a hand on her rapier. "I have received combat training. It is a requirement in my family. In fact, this very uniform has been passed down through generations of Schnee women. My mother wore it. My sister wore it. In fact, Winter was wearing this very uniform when I bested her in combat."

Jaune raised an eyebrow. "Is that supposed to mean something to me?"

Weiss scoffed again. "Winter Schnee died in this uniform, dolt."

Jaune smirked. "So what do I care about your traditions? Just because your family are warriors doesn't mean you are. So you killed your warrior sister. Doesn't mean she was any good, either."

Weiss's eyes widened. "For your information, Winter was the finest formal combatant in Lord Ozpin's service. Considering I am the one who killed her, that means I'm even better."

Jaune shrugged. "I'll let you believe what you want to believe." He eyed her. "Why'd you kill your sister, anyway?"

Weiss turned away, annoyed. "I wanted the company."

* * *

Cinder, Mercury, Roman, and Adam all headed out into the wasteland, packed tightly together. Salem was asleep back at the hideout, and Emerald had made the decision that, from now on, she would have to be the one to primarily look after her. Salem's mental health had decreased rapidly after Neo's death, and now she was having trouble speaking at all. Only a few days earlier, she seemed to temporarily forget how to eat.

Adam held a firm grip on his sword, scanning the area. He was looking for any threats such as Grimm or the Reaper, but secretly was paranoid that Blake might step out of the arcing shadows between the buildings.

Cinder led the group, swords at the ready. She was looking primarily for the Reaper, as she feared her the most.

The group was making possibly their most dangerous excursion yet: the CCTS tower. The tower for the Cross Continental Transmit System was one of the few things Lord Ozpin had actually gone back in and reestablished after the bombings, as even he knew the important role it played in communications. As powerful as he is, the Lord still needed it to communicate halfway across the world.

The tower was guarded, but the Resistance had a way past that: a hidden access point outside of the tower. Lord Ozpin monitored all chatter, so their communications would have to be quick and secretive. It was their only and final hope of contacting Hazel and Tyrian.

It was not long before the CCTS tower was in view, Beacon Fortress looming in the background. The group ducked behind the corner of a building as Cinder looked out.

"Guarded same as usual," she said quietly. "But the access point is good." She ducked back behind the building and faced her allies. "As soon as we send a message, Lord Ozpin will know where we are. We need to send a message, then get back to the hideout before he even realizes it. He knows we're in Vale, but not where we're hiding. We can NOT let him find out."

Adam scoffed slightly. "Even if you get a message to them, how are they supposed to respond?"

Roman pulled out a Scroll. "This is our only one," he said. "It is for receiving messages only. If we were to send from here, it could be tracked. But since Tyrian and Hazel are outside of the Kingdoms, they use an outside communication network that can not be easily tracked. Even if Lord Ozpin were to somehow find their Scroll, they're so far away that they would be gone by the time he could send forces out there. We don't have that advantage."

"Because we live practically at the motherfucker's doorstep," Mercury muttered.

"So what's your plan?" Adam asked.

Cinder glanced back out at the tower, then pulled back. "Normally, Neo would run out there with Roman, who would hack into the access point while she guarded him, and the rest of us would form a perimeter to make sure nothing caught them. But now that Neo's gone, we'll either have to forsake Roman's guard or a member of the perimeter. If one of us take's Neo's place as a guard, the perimeter is pulled tighter. If we don't replace her, Roman is in greater danger. Either way, it's risky. But that's where we're lucky to have you, Adam." Cinder faced him. "You can either guard Roman or stand in the perimeter. Your choice."

Adam nodded slowly. "I see. Well, I think I would probably be more useful in the perimeter. But which one of you will guard Roman?"

"I will," Cinder said. "You and Mercury will be stationed here and at the intersection of the road and the courtyard. Roman and I will go to the access point and tap into it. Once we're in, we'll send a quick message to Hazel and Tyrian's scroll, patch up the point, and make a break for it. As soon as we signal you, you get back here with us."

Adam nodded. Mercury said nothing, but slowly stood and and tapped Adam's shoulder. The two got up together and quietly ran to their posts. Cinder observed them as they ran, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath in.

"Ready?" Roman whispered.

"Yes," Cinder said, slowly breathing out.

"Go!"

Cinder's eyes flew open and she darted towards the access point, careful to avoid the view of the guards. Roman ran next to her, hunched down and ducking behind her. It was not long before they reached the point. Roman rolled over and stopped right in front of a panel. Cinder skidded to a halt, then whirled around to make sure no one heard. Roman pulled out a screwdriver and quietly removed the panel on the back of the tower base, revealing a mess of multi-colored wires. Then he huffed.

"Crap," he said. "They rewired some of this. It will take me a little longer to find the ones I need." He pulled the Scroll out of his pocket and switched to a program he ad written. The screen was emblazoned with a picture of a red queen chess piece. Roman set the Scroll down and reached into the panel, working quickly.

Cinder scanned all around, and listened closely for either a signal from Mercury or Adam or the sound of approaching footsteps, She gripped her swords tightly, ready to strike down anyone who crossed into her vision.

Roman grunted. "Geez…" he muttered angrily. "Just when you think you…" He grunted again, then sighed and looked up at Cinder. "Hey, can you give me a real quick hand?"

Cinder glanced at him briefly, with a questioning and concerned look.

"It's just for a few seconds," Roman whispered.

Cinder sighed and turned around, kneeling down to Roman's level. "What?"

Roman gestured towards the Scroll. "Could you hand me that? I need to hold both of these wires. Just put it in my hand, inside the point."

Cinder grabbed the Scroll quickly and reached into the panel with it. She felt around until she felt Roman's hand, gripping a wire with two of his fingers extended in his best reach. She placed the Scroll in his fingers, and he quickly whirled it around and connected it to a wire.

"Great. Now can you grab that red wire closest to you and pull on it gently?" Roman said.

Cinder wordlessly did as she was told, tugging in short, soft pulls on the wire.

"Perfect," Roman whispered. "I'm going to hand the Scroll back to you now."

Cinder reached back into the panel and felt around again until she felt the scroll in between Roman's fingers. She gripped it and pulled it out, placing it in her pocket.

Roman pushed on the wires he was holding slightly, then pulled his hands out of the panel. He then grabbed the plate and began screwing it back in. Cinder watched him.

As Roman screwed in the last screw, Cinder felt a rush of cool air. A shadow branched over them, but it was not the sun going behind a cloud. The source of the shadow was closer.

Cinder and Roman looked at each other for about a second, then looked towards the source. Though silhouetted, the figure before them still could be made out a short and wearing a shockingly bright pink costume.

"Oh, Ren-Senpai!" the figure suddenly screeched in a high-pitched voice, "I found someone!"


	13. Chapter 9: Confrontation

**Chapter 9: Confrontation**

"Oh no," were Cinder's last words before the hammer fell.

She had closed her eye, fully expecting to have her head crushed by the weapon. However, the force that hit her came from her right, knocking her to the side. It was Roman, jumping and pushing her out of the way. The hammer fell on his leg, causing it to bend unnaturally and emit a cringe-inducing crack. He yelled, clenching his fists, squeezing his eyes shut, and gritting his teeth.

"Roman!" Cinder yelled. She crawled to his side and glanced back at her attacker, who raised her hammer back into her fists.

It was one of Lord Ozpin's Huntresses.

Nora grinned as she looked down on her targets. How cute. One of them was bleeding.

"Oh Reeeeeennnnnn!" Nora cried again. "You'll want to see this!"

Ren appeared out of nowhere, seemingly emerging directly from the shadow of the tower. Cinder could not see his face except for his eyes, which were cold and guff. They scared her.

"Well, what have we here?" the gruff voice beneath the mask growled. He leaned down with a pistol/knife hybrid weapon and slowly extended his arm so the blade rested right beneath Cinder's exposed chin. He raised the blade up, poking at Cinder's flesh and forcing her to look into his cold eyes. A trinkle of blood ran from the puncture down Cinder's neck.

"Looks like some rats, come to scavenge." Lie Ren snarled, his eyes narrowing.

"And they woke up the kitties!" Nora squealed. Her shrill voice was uncomfortably loud, especially compared to her partner's low growls.

Cinder's heart raced as the blood flowed further down her neck and onto her bosom. She could do nothing but worry about her attacker and wonder what was keeping Adam and Mercury.

Roman groaned, turning over on the ground while favoring his injured leg. He looked right at Nora.

"Fuck you," he spat, his words dripping with anger and hate.

Nora gasped a bit. "Uh oh, he said a naughty word!" she yelled. "Can I break his other leg, Ren-Senpai?"

Before Ren could respond, another loud noise interrupted him. This was the sound of an impact. Directly following it, Nora went flying forward, over Cinder and Roman's heads and crashing into the street. Mercury stood behind, his leg raised.

Ren pulled his knife from Cinder's chin and aimed the gun at Mercury. Before he could fire, A red slash cut the barrel. Adam jumped from the shadows and slashed at Ren's face, cutting off his mask and allowing it to fall to the ground, revealing his clean-shaven face and furious mouth. A bleeding cut formed on his left cheek. Adam went in for another slash, but Ren jumped out of the way.

Mercury ran to Roman's side and instantly and without warning hoisted him up. Roman grunted loudly as he was suspended. Adam sheathed his blade and grabbed Ren's mask cloth mask off of the ground, handing it to Cinder. Cinder grabbed the cloth and quickly pressed it over her wound, slowing the bleeding. As she rose to her feet, she heard the sound of clinking armor.

"What the hell is going on here?" a voice called.

Cinder looked to see another Huntsman and Huntress, clad in armor. Ren stood as the other Huntsman approached, and Nora waddled over.

"We found some Resistance scum!" Nora yelled, chipper and seemingly disregarding her injury. "They're feisty, too, Jaune!"

Jaune smirked and looked at the four scavengers before him. "Is that so?" he mused. He laughed slightly and put his hands on his waist. "So this is the Resistance we've heard so much about?"

Pyrrha stepped forward. "I recognize one of them," she said. She pointed at Adam. "He's not Resistance. He's the leader of the White Fang."

"The White Fang?" Another voice joined the conversation. From behind Pyrrha came anther woman, dressed in a white uniform.

Cinder recognized her.

"Schnee..." Cinder said, her wound stinging as she spoke.

Weiss eyed Adam closely. "So the White Fang are part of the Resistance, huh? Figures. I've always hated those animals. They were disgusting pests even before they were organized."

Adam stepped forward. Though his face was hidden under his mask, his voice carried his expression.

"Stop talking about the Faunus that way!" he shouted angrily.

"So it does speak," Weiss said. "I half expected you to bark or moo."

Adam stood still for only a few seconds, growling. Then he unsheathed his sword and rushed Weiss with a battle cry. He almost reached he before she pulled out her rapier and blocked him, then forced him back. June pulled out his sword and attacked Adam from the side, and Adam just barely blocked and jumped back. Juane rushed him with a flurry of quick sword swings, which Adam blocked. However, June pushed forward and Adam was forced to jump back with each attack. Jaune then allowed their blades to clash, then looked Adam in the face.

"This is the part where you loose." Jaune smirked as he put pressure on the blade.

Suddenly, a metallic clink was heard. Both Adam and Jaune looked down to see a fire Dust grenade rolling between them.

"Grenade!" Jaune shouted. He broke the attack off and retreated back, throwing up his shield. Pyrrha did the same, and Ren and Nora ran. Adam bolted away from the grenade back towards Cinder and the others, just barely reaching them before the device exploded in a quick blast of flame and smoke. Adam, Cinder, Mercury, and Roman stared intently at the crater the explosive left.

Jaune and Pyrrha peeked from behind their steaming shields as Ren and Nora returned. They too stared at the crater.

Then all eight of them heard a rustling in the bushes. They all turned their heads to see another figure, garbed in black and a haunting mask, emerge from the darkness.

"Do not harm Adam Taurus," the figure said.

Adam took a step back as his breath audibly quickened. He stepped back again, almost hiding behind Cinder.

Blake Belladonna stepped out of the darkness, her bladed weapons drawn. She pointed one of them at Adam.

"He's mine."


	14. Chapter 10: Twelve is a Crowd

**Chapter 10: Twelve is a Crowd**

The day was brighter and warmer than the ones before it; too much for Ruby's taste. Still, if there was any day where the rest of those Resistance weirdos were going to be out and about, it would be today. It gave her a chance to do some hunting while also getting some exercise. Ruby skipped along the deserted, dusty streets, her inactive scythe cradled in one hand, a rusty chain in the other. As Ruby pranced across the wasteland, she tugged at the cargo behind her, who was struggling to keep up.

Yang gasped and choked with every violent tug of the chain around her neck. She wheezed quick breaths whenever she had the chance, which were usually infrequent stops or pauses in Ruby's stride. Yang licked her chapped lips; her tongue still tasted like dirt and blood. Her mouth stung from dehydration, and her body painfully sweat away what little moisture she had. The day was not particularly warm, but she could feel sunlight on parts of her skin that heated her up just enough to further torment her. The bandages wrapped around the stumps of her arms itched, and the thin veil of purple cloth that Ruby had tied over her sore eye sockets tugged and scratched at her dry skin. Whenever she would salivate enough to attempt to moisturize her lips, Ruby would tug at her neck again and force her to swallow. Her legs were sore and stiff from inactivity, making every stumble forward a painful ordeal. There was no part of her body that did not hurt.

"Come on, bitch, keep up!" Ruby shrilled. Yang felt a harder tug at her neck, forcing her to fall forward. She staggered her legs as she was pulled, preventing her from falling on her face and keeping herself upright. Yang took a deep breath, then summoned every ounce of her strength to jog a few feet forward to lessen the distance between her and Ruby, creating slack on the chain and fulfilling Ruby's demand.

Ruby scoffed at her sister's pitiful display. She paused for a moment, allowing Yang to catch up to her, skidding to a stop in the dirt. Ruby shook her head, then turned to focus back on her trail, dragging Yang behind.

Ruby scanned the environment, looking closely for any movement that she could go attack. However, aside from the occasional debris in the wind, there were no victims in sight. When Ruby looked again, she noticed that she had arrived to roughly the same point where she had killed that girl earlier. The body was gone, so she was either buried or hauled off by Grimm. Ruby sighed a bit when she realized she could not look over her kill. Despite this, she noted that just finding the bloodstains would be pretty satisfying too. Ruby moved her gaze to the ground, looking over the dark asphalt for traces of red.

As Ruby scanned the ground, a sudden noise echoed in the distance. It was faint, but just loud enough to startle Yang, making the chain jangle. It sounded like an explosion. Ruby quickly looked up to see a small cloud of smoke and dust rising from near the CCTS Tower. It rose relatively high, before quickly fading away.

Ruby stared at the sky where the cloud had been for a moment, then grinned.

"Did you hear that, Yang?" she chirped. "There's a fight of some sort over there. Fights mean people. People mean victims."

Yang wheezed heavily, paying more attention to catching her breath and licking her lips than what Ruby was saying. She did, however, grunt loudly, which was her way of showing Ruby that she acknowledged what she said. She did not care what Ruby was seeing, as long as it meant not moving.

Ruby pondered. "Well, it is a little close to Oz's forces. It's probably guarded. As fun as it would be to pick off some of his goons, their numbers are a little bit of a turnoff. Not to mention that there might be Huntsman or Huntresses there…"

Ruby placed her hand over her mouth, tapping with her index finger as she thought about her options. She let herself tune into the silence around her, with the only noise being the slow, steady pace of Yang's sharp breaths and raspy coughs. Then Ruby removed her hand from her face and shrugged.

"Ah, what the hell," she said. "I don't have anything better to do right now. Let's go!"

Ruby then began a quicker skip towards the direction of the explosion. Yang took one last deep breath to savor before she was violently pulled forward, her legs nearly jogging to keep up with her tormentor. Ruby hummed her favorite song, "Red Like Roses", as she made her way towards her next targets. Yang coughed.

* * *

Jaune stepped forward, his blade drawn. Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren followed close behind, their weapons also drawn and poised to attack. Jaune scoffed.

"Blake Belladonna," he remarked. "Just when I thought one White Fang was bad enough."

Blake's mouth morphed into an irritated sneer beneath her mask. "For your information, _human_, Adam Taurus has betrayed and abandoned the White Fang." She gestured towards her target, who had since regrouped with his Resistance allies. "I am the leader now, and I am here to take him back to receive Faunus justice."

Before Jaune could respond, Weiss stepped from behind him and marched ahead to confront Blake.

"Whatever he's done, he's Resistance now, which makes him our responsibility now." Weiss snapped. "So piss off, beast."

Blake growled. "Schnee. Your company has been a thorn in Faunus' sides even before the White Fang."

"I know," Weiss said coyly. "We've treated you things with no less care than you deserve."

"You use Faunus slave labor!" Blake shouted. "And soon, you will pay for that, you and your entire species!"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "'Slave labor' she calls it. You things aren't deserving of the right to be called slaves. I simply see you as beasts of burden; you have no say. You have no rights. And you never will, creature!"

Blake growled and shouted in fury, then leapt at Weiss with her bladed weapons drawn. Weiss quickly unsheathed and held up her rapier, blocking just as Blake's blades clashed into it. A loud metallic clank rang out as the weapons collided. Blake pushed off of the connection and began rapidly striking at Weiss from multiple angles, attempting to bypass her guard. Weiss, careful of the Faunus' every move, blocked each blow with quick swings of her rapier and steady positioning of the blade. Blake then jumped and threw both blades down towards Weiss, who raised her rapier to block. As Blake's weapons collided with Weiss', Weiss quickly pulled out and spun over to Blake's side. With a quick swing of the blade, Weiss cut.  
Blake felt a sharp sting and instinctively kicked, her foot finding its place in Weiss' gut. As Weiss stumbled back, Blake leaped away with feline grace and landed on her feet a few meters away. She examined her side; Weiss had slashed a sizable cut in her abdomen, which had sliced through her uniform and drew blood.

As Weiss straightened herself, Blake swung in for another attack. She kept her blades low and aimed for Weiss' legs. Weiss leapt into the air, with Blake's blades narrowly missing her legs. Weiss frontflipped over her opponent and slashed at her from above. Blake, though not expecting this, was quick enough to throw one of her blades up just in time before the rapier crashed down, repelling the Human's attack. As Weiss landed back on her feet, both combatants turned to face each other.

"That's enough, ladies!" A voice called out. Both fighters stopped their assaults and faced towards the speaker.

Pyrrha marched forward next to Jaune. "While I love a good show, I think it's about time this little performance closed curtains."

Jaune nodded. "These rebels, including Adam Taurus, are to be brought before Lord Ozpin. And if you have a problem with that, Belladonna, you'll have to face all five of us." He raised his sword.

"We're not going anywhere!" Torchwick yelled, still held in Mercury's arms. He raised his cane, and the end opened. Before the Huntsmen, Huntresses, Weiss, or Blake even had a chance to react, a single fiery blast shot off from the end, landing in the approximate center of the commotion and creating a sizable explosion of dust, stone, and fire.

Cinder blocked the heat from the blast with her free hand, then looked to Roman.

"Why the hell didn't you do that before?!" Mercury yelled.

"It was only one shot," Roman said, gritting his teeth through the pain in his legs. "I had to wait until they were all close enough to one area to hit them all."

"No time to argue!" Cinder cried. "We have to get out of here now, before it's too late!"

Cinder, Mercury, Adam, and Roman all turned towards where they came from. Just as they were all stepping forward, they were forced to stop again.

"Oh, I'm afraid it's already too late." one of the figures in front of them said. The Reaper grinned under her hood. "Hello, besties. Fancy seeing you here."

Cinder felt her breath stop and her heart rate quicken. The Reaper had found them again, and this time she wasn't alone. Behind her, with a chain around her neck, was one of the most miserable-looking creatures Cinder had ever seen. It was a tall, blonde girl dressed in rags. Her feet were bare and red, and parts of her legs, stomach, and breasts could be seen through the tears in her coverings. She had no arms, just stumps with dirty, bloody bandages wrapped tightly around them. Her face looked as if it was once beautiful, but now was tarnished with scars, bruises, dirt, and a single, shoddy piece of purple fabric wrapped over her face above her nose. Cinder guessed that, underneath the fabric, the girl was missing her eyes. She wheezed tired breaths, and would occasionally lick her lips.

Suddenly, a loud noise crashed behind them. Cinder took her worried eye off the Reaper and looked behind to see Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, Ren, and Weiss quickly running forward. They skidded to a halt when they saw Ruby.

"The Reaper!" Jaune yelled to his team.

Ruby's dark face lightened up in glee. "More victims!" she squealed, activating her scythe.

Jaune pointed his sword at Ruby. "Don't let her kill any of the rebels! We need them alive!" he shouted.

Ruby flashed a grin, then swung her scythe right at Cinder. Cinder closed her eye and prepared for death, but it did not come. She opened her eye to see Adam standing between her and the scythe blade, his sword drawn and pressing against the opposing blade. He groaned.

"Go! Go!" he yelled. Cinder ducked down and ran, and Mercury pulled a yelping Torchwick to safety. Ruby swung her scythe again, but Adam dodged it and rolled away. As Ruby raised her scythe to strike again, she was suddenly hit. Jaune barged forwards with his shield out, ramming Ruby and knocking her backwards. Ruby shifted her attention to the Huntsman.

"One of Oz' toys. Killing you should be fun!" she said before dropping Yang's chain and using both hands to swing her scythe. Jaune blocked the attack with his shield, grunting, before retaliating with his own swing of his sword. Ruby dodged the attack, jumping back and giggling. Before he could make another move, Nora came rocketing out of the air with her hammer, slamming the ground and forcing all parties involved to leap back. Cinder just crawled out of the way of the blow.

As Nora stepped back, Blake suddenly leapt from the shadows. She rolled to a halt, standing a good distance from everyone else.

Twelve people now stood in a misshapen circle; Cinder, Mercury, Torchwick, Adam, Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, Ren, Weiss, Ruby, Yang, and Blake; each eyeing their enemies closely.

"Well isn't this a clusterfuck," Ruby chirped. She lowered her head and giggled. Her giggling continued until it turned into chuckling. Then, without warning, she threw her head back so hard and fast her hood came off and began laughing a shrill, wicked laugh. Then she lowered her head again and, still chuckling, reached over and unhooked Yang's chain from her neck.

"Yang..." Ruby said between chuckles, "sic 'em."

Yang had been exhausted. But when Ruby said those words… something came over her. Something Ruby had instilled into her for years. Not instilled... beat. Beat into her. Something... terrible. Yang's mind immediately shifted from her pain and exhaustion to rage. Rage against Ruby. Rage against the people around her. Rage against life. Suddenly, she wanted to fight back… fight back against everything. But she could not fight back against Ruby; Ruby would just hurt her some more. But the others... she knew she could fight them. Yang seethed in hate. Her sore legs and sweaty skin burned from her mind. In their place was hatred... and violence... and pure, unfiltered... rage.

They couldn't hold her now. Nothing could stop her. They could swing all they wanted, but like a fever, she would take them down.

It was time for them to watch her ignite.

Yang screamed loudly, then rushed at Jaune at blinding speeds. Jaune raised his sword and shield, but Yang dropped to the ground and slid under them, kicking out his feet. As Jaune fell, Yang hopped back up and ran at him, screeching. Pyrrha stepped forward to defend her partner. Though Yang could not see her, she could hear the clinking of her armor as she moved; the thud of her foot as it landed on the ground.

Yang knew exactly where she was.

As Pyrrha raised her spear and shield, Yang jumped to attack. Pyrrha thrust forward with her spear, aiming directly for Yang's heart. However, just before the spear hit its mark, Yan dodged and allowed it to pass right by her. She spun as she lurched forward, facing her target again. Pyrrha raised her shield, but Yang swung her whole body in the direction of it and slammed it to the side, giving her an open path to Pyrrha. Yang screamed, then lurched forward and swiftly bit down onto Pyrrha's neck.

Pyrrha screamed as Yang's yellowed teeth sunk into her, tearing violently through skin and filling her mouth with blood, the excess of which sprayed out around the bite. Pyrrha whirled around attempting to throw Yang off, but Yang held tight.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune shouted. He jumped to his feet, then swung his sword at Yang. Yang heard him coming, released Pyrrha, and jumped back, allowing the blade to fall in between them. She turned and screamed at Jaune, but was cut off when she was struck from the side by a pair of feet. Ren came in with a drop kick, slamming into Yang's side and causing her to fall and roll on the ground. Yang had not heard him.

Yang quickly got up, ignoring her sore ribs. As Jaune prepared for attack, Ruby suddenly entered the fray, swinging her scythe in a circular motion towards him. Jaune managed to block with his shield, but was knocked back by the blow.

Cinder, meanwhile, watched the antics with frightened awe. As she watched, something came over her. She scanned the group and saw so many enemies… the Huntsmen and Huntresses, the Schnee Dust Company, the White Fang, the Reaper and her maniac... this was never going to end, was it? Not this specific battle, but the war for survival. No matter where they turned, someone would always be there to hurt them. They were punching bags in a world of boxers. No one was afraid of them.

As Cinder closed her eye, she found herself in a bunker in Mistral, duel-wielding swords and fighting a practice dummy. Salem watched her as she pulled off intricate swordplay and fast acrobatics, only stopping when her swords where at the dummy's synthetic throat. Panting, she looked to Salem, who nodded.

"Very good," Salem said in her calm voice. "You should be ready in no time."

Cinder gazed at her mentor with two eyes. "Salem," she said, "you said we were a Resistance against evil. But what is the evil? What are we getting ready for?"

Salem sighed. "Cinder, there are much more wicked and ancient forces in this world than you realize. I've been holding them at bay, but they're getting stronger. They're learning. Soon, I don't think I will be enough anymore."

Cinder panted. "But... what are they? When will we know to fight?"

Salem glanced down, breaking eye contact. "If it were up to me, you'd never need to know. I had hoped with all my heart that these forces would not return. There's still a chance they might not. But that chance is too small. If and when they come, you'll know what they are and when to fight. But in that rare chance that they do not come, I'd rather you not know at all."

Cinder sighed, and glanced down at her feet. "I want to help you the best I can," she said.

"I know, dear." Salem said, looking back up. "You are a warrior. Just remember that, no matter what happens, always fight back. Don't let anyone keep you down. Do it for me."

Cinder's eye flew open. She reached to her back and pulled out her two swords. Her brows tightened in anger as she looked out at her enemies.

Mercury, Roman, and Adam stared at her in shock. "Cinder!"' Roman yelled. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?!"

Cinder stood, her swords brandished. "No more," she spat. "I will not let us be the weaklings here. They gang up on us because they don't fear us. Lord Ozpin's people see us as scum. The Schnees see us as nuisances. The White Fang see us as infidels. The Reaper sees us as targets. The world sees us as nothing."

Cinder seethed as her words left her mouth. "But no more! If we ever want to survive, if we ever want to win, they need to see us for who we really are! And we... are... threats!"

Cinder began walking towards the battle. It had escalated since she last payed attention to it; Weiss was battling Blake again, Yang was fending off both Nora and Ren simultaneously, and Jaune and Pyrrha were trying and failing to slow down the ever-quick and violent Ruby.

Cinder's walk turned to a jog, which turned into a run, which turned into a sprint. She closed her eye and deeply exhaled one last time before flashing her eye open and emitting a loud growl. Every person except Yang tuned their eyes in her direction, even as they kept fighting. Cinder set her sights right on Jaune and ran towards him before preparing her swords and unleashing a fierce battle cry.

"For Salem!"


	15. Chapter 11: Blood

**Chapter 11: Blood**

Cinder's gaze quickly shot around the battlefield, eyeing each of her potential opponents. The closest was the girl with the hammer, so Cinder decided she would be first to feel her rage.

Cinder spun, her swords extended, in a whirling cyclone of blades as she charged Nora. Nora yelped as Cinder brought the blades down towards her. She raised her hammer and blocked the swords with the handle, each blade landing less than an inch from her fingers. Nora glanced down at the swords and how close they had come, then looked back up at Cinder's face. Little worried or concerned the battle-hardened and sadistic Huntress, but the look on this rebel's face was full of such rage and determination that it scared her. Nora pushed Cinder off of her, only for Cinder to immediately retaliate with a series of swings. Nora held her hammer up to block each of the blows, adjusting her position as Cinder struck harder with every swing and pushed her back.

As Nora raised her hammer to block the next swing, Cinder suddenly raised her leg and slammed her foot directly on Nora's defense, then kicked hard. The kick pushed Nora backwards and caused her to slide across the stone. Towards the end of her slide, her heel clipped a raised area of the stone, and she fell backward, landing on her bottom with a grunt and dropping her defense. She glanced up, and saw Cinder raising her swords and preparing for a kill.

Though Ren considered letting Cinder finish to finally rid him of Nora's nuisance, he decided that this would potentially be the only time Cinder would be open and rushed in to attack. He slid silently across the ground, noting that he was attacking from the side without an eye.

However, Nora saw Ren rushing to attack, and that was all Cinder needed. She saw Nora's eyes glance away from her and look behind her. While Cinder could not hear or see her attacker, she still knew where he was.

Cinder whirled around, crossing her swords in an "x" shape in front of her and ducking behind them. Ren struck her blades first, their two sets of weapons clanging as they met and skidding Cinder back more than three feet. Ren's angry eyes met her own, and they simultaneously pushed off of each other. Ren began lowering his guns to fire, but Cinder was not about to give him the opportunity. She pointed her blades at him and rushed forward with a battle cry, forcing him to react or be impaled. Ren leapt out of the way, and Cinder raised her sword right into his jump. The tip of the blade stuck itself into the side of Ren's torso and cut all the way down his body as he flew through the air, with the blade finally exiting at his waist. Ren shouted in pain and crashed down to the ground, immediately grabbing his side and squeezing the bleeding wound.

Cinder stared over at her injured foe, then heard the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching. She quickly turned her head to see Pyrrha running towards her, her neck still bloody.

* * *

Blake did her best to try and keep away. The Huntsman and Huntress that were fighting the Reaper's maniac had managed to knock her away, but the maniac had found a new target: her. Blake jumped backwards as Yang lunged at her, chomping her teeth and screaming in hysteria. Blake raised her blades and jumped at Yang, intending to remove her head. Yang, however, heard Blake's foot strike the stone to begin her jump, and ducked down out of the way, allowing her opponent to pass right over her. Blake frontfliped back onto her feet, her cat-like reflexes allowing her to ensure her footing.

Before she could even finish turning around, she heard running footsteps and a fierce shrieking as Yang barreled right into her back, tackling her to the ground. Blake was pounded face-first onto the stone, her White Fang mask striking the ground with an auditory crack. Blake rolled over onto her back just in time to see Yang leaping into the air above her with another scream. Yang landed on her, causing Blake to gasp for breath as the girl's body collided with her abdomen. Yang sat on top of Blake and screeched, thrusting her head down to bite at Blake's exposed neck. Blake grunted, then threw her blade up horizontally into Yang's path. Yang bit down on the blade when she made contact with it, growling and snarling through her rotted teeth. Blake fully expected the maniac to release the sharp blade, but Yang began thrashing, trying to pull the weapon from Blake's hand. The sharp edge even cut the sides of Yang's mouth, making them bleed slightly, but Yang did not even seem to notice. Blake desperately tried to regain control of her weapon, either trying to release it from Yang's jaws or shove it down her throat. Neither were working. Blake instead took a sharp breath and heaved, thrusting her body upward and throwing her attacker off. Yang rolled on the ground, but immediately began to get back up. Blake leapt to her feet and glanced around.

This was too risky. She fully expected opposition from the rebels in her goal to capture Adam, but Ozpin's forces? The Schnees? The Reaper and whoever this maniac was? As much as she wanted to get Adam… as much as she wanted to hurt him… she had a job to do. She was the leader of her people, and she was responsible for leading them into a new age. With all of this… there was just too much of a chance of getting killed. Blake decided it would be best if she lived to fight another day.

Blake glanced one more time at her opponent, who was almost up despite not having arms to help her. She saw the dirt and blood and almost pitied her. At least, she would have if she was not human. Blake reached up and adjusted her mask, and felt the crack in the middle grow as she pushed on it. She lowered her hand and, without a sound, turned and ran back into the darkness she emerged from.

Yang got back to her feet and listened for her foe, but could not hear her. She growled as she prepared for an attack, but it never came. Just as Yang was beginning to let her guard down, she heard the clanging of weapons nearby. She turned, screeched, and ran to kill whoever was there.

* * *

Jaune raised his shield, blocking as Mercury's weaponized boot slammed towards him. He raised his sword with his other hand, blocking Adam's advancing swing. Both rebels increased the pressure of their attacks, but Jaune pushed both of them back.

"Rebel scum," Jaune growled.

"Murderous swine," Mercury spat.

Jaune swung his sword at Mercury, barely missing him as Mercury bent backwards to avoid the attack. Adam lunged forward with his sword, but Jaune dropped to the ground and kicked Adam's feet out from under him, causing him to collapse hard onto the stone. Adam landed on his tailbone, and winced against the stinging pain as the solid ground struck it.

Jaune lept to his feet, pointed his sword down, and stabbed down at Adam. Before his sword made contact with the Faunus' body, Mercury kicked Jaune in the arm, knocking him back and causing him to skid across the ground, dirt and pebbles flying from underneath his shoes. Jaune grunted loudly, then raised his arms again. His sword arm was fine, but his shield arm ached and stung as he tried to lift it. Jaune dropped the painful appendage back to his side and glanced up at his attackers. Adam got back up, and both men were slowly approaching. Jaune, with all the resistance and strength he could muster in his arm, slammed his shield into his sword.

Adam and Mercury's eyes widened as the shield seemed to morph before them. It expanded to reveal mechanical components within, and spread over the width of the blade, transforming and shifting around it. It then collapsed back upon itself and closed up, transforming the original sword into a wider, longer one with more edges and points. Jaune released the last of the shield before it completed its transformation, letting his injured arm go limp. He held the massive sword in his good hand, and positioned himself for attack.

Mercury and Adam simultaneously rushed him, with Mercury going high and Adam going low. Jaune spun in place, then swung his blade in a tilted angle that repelled Mercury's kick and blocked Adam's swing. He swung the sword at Adam's face. Adam recoiled to avoid the attack, though the tip of the long blade chipped his mask. Mercury prepared to go for Jaune's legs, but Jaune suddenly turned and slammed the sword onto the ground, cracking the stone and shaking the loose stones around Mercury. Mercury jumped back to safety.

As the two rebels regarded their opponent, Mercury suddenly heard a yell. He glanced up to see Nora, hammer raised, above him releasing a battle cry. He dove out of the way as the hammer struck down not an inch from his body, cracking the ground. Jaune took the opportunity to swing at Adam, causing their blades to clash. Mercury got back up and faced his new opponent, who gave him a devilish smirk before swinging her hammer at him.

* * *

Weiss had fought many opponents in her life. Some of them were extremely difficult de to their strength, speed, or patterns. While she would never admit it, this "Reaper" she was now fighting easily cracked the top five when it came to her most difficult adversaries.

Weiss struggled to block or parry each of the Reaper's broad swings, each of which were extremely fast and extremely powerful. Her long reach and massive scythe blade made her attacks cover a lot of area, which was difficult to block with a thin rapier. Still, the Reaper had not managed to hit her yet.

Normally Ruby would begin to get annoyed when an opponent held her off for this long, but she had gone so long without a challenge! Most of her victims nowadays do not stand a chance. But first that ice cream girl, now this spoiled brat. Both of them got her blood pumping!

Ruby cackled as she increased the speed of her swings, hoping the Schnee would tire before she did. Every once and a while she let her gaze drift from her target and scan for Yang to ensure her slave had not run off. Ruby checked, and saw Yang rushing to attack one of the rebels, who was locked in a fight with one of the Huntresses.

Weiss took note of her opponent's lack of focus. Right after the next swing, Weiss spun around out of the path of the scythe and stabbed her rapier at the Reaper's heart. Ruby noticed that her scythe was not hitting anything and turned her attention back just in time to dodge the attack, letting it pass by her. Ruby stumbled, but regained her footing a few feet away from Weiss. She eyed her opponent, then laughed.

"I've got to hand it to you, Ice Queen," she snickered. "Most people don't last this long against me." She grinned. "But I need to kill you. Your status will make you a valuable kill. Finally, I get to kill a Schnee."

Weiss scoffed. "Dolt. As if I'd fall to someone as low as you. You're disgusting."

Ruby giggled. "Yeah, I'm pretty nasty, aren't I? But you're delusional if you think you can cheat death just because you have some money and a fancy house. You may be powerful, Ice Queen, but you're not perfect."

Weiss stood upright, readying her rapier. "I'm not perfect! Not yet. But I'm still leagues better than you."

Weiss rushed forward, rapidly striking at Ruby from every angle she could. It was Ruby's turn to defend, as she had to constantly rotate her giant weapon to block the onslaught of deadly swings approaching from seemingly every direction. Their two weapons clashed, and they stared each other in the eyes with fury and determination.

* * *

Cinder's swords and Pyrrha's spear clashed in the air, each fighter trying to outmaneuver the other. Cinder swung one of her swords to meet Pyrrha's spear, then swung her other blade below. Pyrrha blocked with her shield. Though she was still fighting hard, she was beginning to feel the effects of blood loss.

As Cinder and Pyrrha fought, they suddenly heard a loud screaming and both turned to see Yang rushing them. Pyrrha, now knowing what the maniac was capable of, jumped out of the way and let her go for Cinder. Cinder swung her blades at the girl, but Yang suddenly dropped to her knees, then pushed off with her feet and rammed her face directly into Cinder's stomach, biting her hard through her clothes. Cinder yelped and threw Yang off of her. The bite did not pierce her clothes or skin, but stung nonetheless and would certainly leave a large bruise in its wake.

Cinder glanced around to her teammates. Adam and Mercury were holding off one of the Huntsman and one of the Huntresses, and Roman was doing his best to stay out of the fray while favoring his wounded legs. She turned her attention to her enemies: the maniac was on the ground struggling to get up, one Huntsman was wounded on the ground, one Huntress was a few feet away from her minding her wound, the Schnee and the Reaper were engaged in their own battle, and the other Huntsman and Huntress were fighting Adam and Mercury.

As Cinder noted the positions of everyone, she suddenly noticed that the path back towards their base was open. If she could just bring down this Huntress she was fighting, she could rally the others and escape. It was almost too easy.

Part of her did not want to do that, though. In fact, most of her did not want to do that. She was finally standing up for herself; she was finally feared. She wanted to finish the Huntress off and then take out the rest of them, ending with the Reaper on the other end of her sword. She almost disregarded the possibility of escape and just went back to fighting.

However, she saw Torchwick struggling to stay out of the way. If there was any time for him to get away alive, it would have to be now. That opening may be gone soon, not just for him, but for all of them. Was it better to die fighting, or live to fight another day? Cinder did not weigh her options for long, as she watched Torchwick seethe in agony and knew what she had to do to protect her group.

Noticing that her opponent looked distracted, Pyrrha rushed to attack. Cinder raised one of her swords to block her swinging spear, then raised the other and promptly struck Pyrrha right on her wounded neck with the hilt of the other. Pyrrha cried out in pain and collapsed, dropping down and clutching her neck with her shielded arm's hand, placing the shield to block attacks from above.

But Cinder did not attack. Instead, she turned on her heels to face the exit, placed two fingers in her mouth, and whistled loudly. Mercury, Adam, and Roman all turned their attention towards her, then nodded dodged one of Nora's swings, then kicked right into her gut, knocking her away. He then turned and ran for the opening. Adam parried one of Jaune's swings, then followed. As Adam ran, he scooped up Torchwick, threw the man over his shoulder, and ran after Mercury. Cinder began to run after them.

As she ran, she heard a snarling from behind her. She turned her head to see the Reaper's deformed maniac chasing after her, maw wide. Cinder raised a foot and kicked the maniac in the jaw, knocking her back. She then sprinted as fast as she could to the opening. She heard the maniac screech and the Huntsmen and Huntresses clamor as she ran, but did not stop. She sprinted until she was back onto the street, directly behind her allies, and dashed away to safety in the wasteland.

* * *

Ruby had knocked Weiss back long enough to watch the rebels flee. She would have chased after them if she knew the Schnee would not attack her while she was vulnerable. It then dawned on Ruby that she and Yang were the only ones left that were not part of Ozpin's forces. As arrogant and strong as she was, she knew that she and Yang could not take on all of these opponents at once.

Ruby sneered. She knew she was outmatched, but did not want to run. She could not stand losing… the concept was almost foreign to her. She briefly considered that, if she was going to die, she would take as many of them down with her as she could, but she realized that if she was killed, she would not be able to kill anyone else again. Gone would be the screams of her victims, the gore of her kills, the suffering of Yang… no. She had to live. And while it hurt in every bone in her body to do so, she had to forfeit.

Ruby whistled. "Yang!' she hollered.

Yang stopped flailing and growling and turned to face where her Mistress' call had come from.

"Come on, slave!" Ruby yelled. "We're leaving!"

"Oh no you don't!' Weiss yelled, jumping in with her rapier aimed at Ruby's head. Ruby ducked under the stab, and slammed the handle of her scythe upwards into Weiss' nose. An audible crack was heard, and blood began gushing from the Schnee's nose.

Yang ran to Ruby, and Ruby turned and ran with Yang following close behind. Pyrrha's spear struck the ground near them, but they reached a small brush on the side of the courtyard and both leapt into it, out of sight and rage of the Huntsmen and Huntresses.

* * *

Jaune panted as Pyrrha went to retrieve her spear. Nora dropped her hammer and rushed to Ren's side.

"Ren-senpai!" she cried. "Are you okay, my love?"

Ren sneered and pushed himself up. "Get away from me," he growled.  
Nora disregarded his anger. "How dare they lay a finger on my senpai! I'm going to kill them all after I nurse you back to health!"

Jaune shook his head as Pyrrha approached him, one of her hands holding her bleeding neck tightly.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

Jaune shrugged. "They fucked up my arm pretty good. But I'm more worried about you."

Pyrrha sighed and gritted her teeth. "I'm not gonna lie, this hurts really bad."

Jaune nodded. "Lie Ren's hurt too. I think the three of us should get some medical attention right away."

Pyrrha's eyes glanced over to Nora and Ren, then over to the now sitting Weiss, then back to Jaune. She leaned in and whispered. "This won't go over well with Lord Ozpin, will it?"

"No, it won't." Jaune replied. "But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Let's just get you bandaged up before you bleed out."

* * *

About a mile into their run, Yang began to slow down. Ruby rolled her eyes, knowing it meant Yang was calming down out of her violent state and would soon be the weak, slow slave bitch she usually was. Ruby herself slowed down in order to let her catch up (as well as to catch her own breath a bit), until Yang was stumbling slowly next to her. Ruby pulled the chain off of her belt and quickly attached it back to Yang's collar. Yang began wheezing, out of breath, hot, sweaty, and dehydrated. She mumbled slightly.

Ruby was seething with anger. As she walked, she suddenly pulled out and activated her scythe, then swiftly swung it at a nearby tree, cutting through it and bringing it down. She was furious. She figured she'd have to take it out on Yang later.

She stopped walking, and Yang did as well, wheezing and confused as to where she was or how she got there. Ruby clenched her fists.

"_**FUCK!**_" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

* * *

Adam clenched his hand into a fist and slammed it onto the hideout's metal door in a loud knock. Cinder looked around for enemies as Mercury helped Roman. The door's grille slid open, and Emerald's eyes could be seen on the other side. They widened in alarm, then the grille slammed shut. The door unlocked and swung open, and Emerald rushed out. She immediately got on Roman's unsupported side and hoisted him up.

"Oh my gods, what happened?" she asked.

"Too much," Cinder replied. "We'll tell you about it once we're inside. Hurry!"

All five rebels poured into the base. Cinder slammed the door behind her.


	16. Chapter 12: Experiments

**Chapter 12: Experiments**

Lord Ozpin was silent for a moment. Then, without warning, slammed his fist down onto his desk. The wood split and snapped underneath the impact. He had just been informed of the battle at the tower and his Huntsman and Huntresses' failure to kill or capture the rebels. Lord Ozpin felt his hands tingle, but clenched them closed to stop them.

"Not yet," he thought.

His "warriors" would have to be punished, harshly. He figured a few weeks in solitary confinement each would be acceptable. As for Schnee, he'd have to hurt her a different way: he'd have to hurt her pride.

The tyrant reached up and pushed his glasses into place, the dim light of the window reflecting off of them. He sat quietly for a moment, then stood up. He grabbed his cane.

"If these children aren't going to do it right," he thought, "then I guess I'll have to bring in the adults."

* * *

Emerald's eyes widened. "You mean you took on Huntsman, Huntresses, Weiss Schnee, the Reaper, and a crazed maniac?"

Roman nodded slightly as Cinder tightened the bandage around his leg. "More like Cinder did. She took on most of them and even wounded a few pretty good."

Emerald turned her attention to Cinder. "Cinder, what were you thinking? You could've been killed."

"But I wasn't!" Cinder snapped. Emerald drew back, surprised. Cinder sighed. "I'm sorry, Emerald. But I'm sick and tired of everyone thinking they can walk all over us. They need to know that we are a force to be reckoned with."

Mercury, who was sitting nearby, scoffed lightly. "Yeah, but the downside of them thinking we're a threat is that now they're going to better prepare for us. What we were living through before was them thinking we were easy targets, and that was hard enough. Now how hard do you think they're going to come down on us?"

Cinder shook her head. "I'm sorry. I did it… for Salem."

"Yeah, we heard you." Roman said.

Cinder tightened his bandage more, making Roman grit his teeth and seethe in pain. Then Cinder stood up, glanced at Adam (who had been sitting quietly). She looked over to Emerald, who gazed at her with an expression of concern. Cinder then turned and headed down the hall to her room. She just wanted to rest.

As she passed Salem's room, she heard the occupant mumbling inside. She stopped and looked inside. Salem was curled up in a fetal position on her cot, mumbling to herself. Cinder decided to check up on her.

"Legends. Stories scattered through time. Mankind has grown quite fond of recounting the exploits of heroes and villains…" Salem rambled as Cinder got closer. Cinder sat down on the cot next to her mentor. She stared at the floor for a moment, then looked over to Salem.

"Hey Salem," Cinder said slowly. "Do you remember me?"

Salem stopped mumbling and looked up, her eyes reaching Cinder's face. She sat still, mouth agape, staring.

A tear formed in Cinder's eye. "Come on, Salem. You know me. Don't you recognize me?"

No reply.

"Do you know who I am?"

No reply.

The tear rolled down Cinder's cheek as she began to raise her voice. "Who am I? Do you know? I don't even think _I_ know. I need you!"

Salem began to recoil, and her breathing began to speed up.

Cinder threw her hands up and placed them onto Salem's shoulders, shaking her slightly. "You must still be in there somewhere! You need to help us! You need to tell us what we're supposed to do!"

Salem's breathing grew rapid, and she yelped slightly. Cinder saw the fear in her eyes and realized what she was doing. She unhanded Salem and scooted back.

"I'm sorry," she said, more tears coming to her eye. "I'm sorry."

Cinder jumped up and ran out of the room. She wanted to get back to her own room before she stared crying.

* * *

Lord Ozpin pushed the door open. The hallway before him was lined in dark metal. Each step he took made the metal clang beneath his feet, which echoed in the passage. When he reached the door to the other end, he quickly typed the passcode onto the access pad, allowing the security door to slide open. Without so much as a word, he entered the room.

The Beacon Laboratory was full of mechanical equipment, operating tables, metal tools, and bottles and jars of acids and organs. One one side of the room was one of the people he was looking for, with a mass of metal and wires on one of the tables before her. On the other side was the other person, wiping blood off of an operating table. Both looked up to see who had entered their domain, then rose and stood at attention when they saw it was their Lord.

"Lord Ozpin," the woman with the machines said in a slow, sultry voice. She bowed slightly. "What brings you to our humble workplace?"

Lord Ozpin lowered his had and peered at his underlings over his glasses. "Your experiments," he said coldly, "I think it's about time we put them to use."

"Will you be desiring to use my experiments, my Lord?" the man said. As with everything he said, he said it so fast and loud that it almost sounded like one word. There were little to no pauses in the man's speech. Too much coffee had something to do with it.

"Nonsense!" the woman said, throwing her hair over her shoulder. "My experiments are what he's looking for."

"Silence, the both of you." Lord Ozpin snapped. Both of his underlings stood straight. "I will be using both of yours."

Both the man and the woman grinned evilly.

"Goodwitch, show me what the newest model looks like." Lord Ozpin commanded.

Glynda Goodwitch nodded. "Right this way…" She then began walking over to a corner of the lab.

Glynda Goodwitch was the builder and mechanical tinkerer of Lord Ozpin's forces, experimenting with new weapons, tools, and devices to aid her Lord's cause. She had modified the Huntsman Jaune Arc's shield to combine with his sword. However, the project she had been working on recently was easily one of her favorites, and the command for it had come from none other than Lord Ozpin himself.

Lord Ozpin followed Goodwitch over to the corner, where a large object rested under a thick white cloth. Glynda grabbed the cloth and, with a look of enthusiasm, yanked it off to reveal her creation.

"What you are seeing is the result of over a year of toiling with the most advanced in mechanical and robotics engineering. Of course, Ironwood helped out with putting it together. One the outer layer is added, it will be practically invisible to unsuspecting victims."

Lord Ozpin nodded slowly. "What does it run on?"

"Dust," Goodwitch replied. "Two Dust crystals will keep it going for over two weeks. But I'm sure our little… "friend" in the SDC can generously provide some of her supply to keep it going."

Lord Ozpin nodded again. "Impressive." He paused. "Add the finishing touches. I want it ready for deployment by the end of the week."

Goodwitch smiled upon hearing the words of praise, and bowed. "Yes, my Lord."

Lord Ozpin turned around and looked at the man. He walked over, taking his time.

"And what do you have for me, Oobleck?"

Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck grinned. While Goodwitch was much more the mechanical side of war science, he was definitely the biological side of it. But not things like poison gases or steroids. Oh no…

And while Goodwitch did her work out of an admiration for their Lord and a loyalty to him, Oobleck did his for fun. The scent of decay, the cold of blood… Lord Ozpin just gave him the opportunity to do what he loved.

"I am pleased to announce," he said in his fast-talking manner, "that Project Deadwind is not only possible, but doable. And not just doable, but successful."

"Elaborate," the Lord commanded.

Oobleck moved over to the bloody operating table. "I've been running the experiments on our Huntsman and Huntresses that were, shall we say, 'less than fortunate' in combat." His smile widened. "The early ones were massively disappointing. But then came one."

Oobleck moved to the other side of the table, barely able to contain his excitement. "It was that Winchester kid. As I ran the electricity through his body… as the serums and steroids took control of his muscles and tissues… suddenly he opened his eyes. He was alive again… so to speak."

Lord Ozpin nodded. "Would you be able to replicate it?"

"Already have!" Oobleck exclaimed. "Next was that Bronzewing fellow! And after that, the Soleil girl! As long as they have the correct blood type and are LOCK compatible, they can be… restored!"

Lord Ozpin looked around. "Do you have one that could be perfected by the end of the week?"

Oobleck smiled again, then snapped his fingers. "Port!" he yelled.

Oobleck's hunchbacked, obese, foul-smelling assistant staggered from the shadows, his eyes squinting tightly behind a dirty and rugged mustache. He carried a bag over his shoulder, the bottom of which was dripping blood onto the white floors.

"The body, Master." Port lifted the bag and placed it roughly on the table. He grunted, then backed up.

Oobleck opened the tied end of the bag and revealed the contents inside to Lord Ozpin.

"This is one of the many bodies we've found out in the wasteland," Oobleck said quickly. "She's in a bit of a sorry state now, but she's the perfect subject. Everything seems to match. If we woke this one up, she could do some damage."

Lord Ozpin stared at the mangled corpse. "Dump it onto the table."

Oobleck complied, lifting the bag and allowing the gory contents to spill out onto the table. The stench was revolting; but Oobleck liked it. Blood pooled under each of the mutilated sections.

"It looks like it's been cut clean in half," Lord Ozpin remarked. He shifted his unamused and dark gaze to Oobleck. "Are you sure this… thing will serve my purposes?"

"I guarantee it," Oobleck replied. "Give Port and I until the end of the week, and she'll be ready at the same time Goodwitch's machine is."

Lord Ozpin scoffed, but turned his attention back to the corpse. As he regarded it, he noticed one of its eyes was pointed towards him. Even though it was glazed and bloodshot, its brown iris was still noticeable. This gave him an idea.

"Goodwitch," he called. Goodwitch hurried over from where she had been standing, rushing to her Lord's side.

"Yes, my Lord?"

"That older experiment you were working on, the strobe lights…" he said. "Did they work? Did they do what we wanted them to?"

Goodwitch nodded. "Yes, my Lord."

"Do you still have them?"

"Yes, my Lord."

Lord Ozpin nodded again. He looked over to Oobleck. "Remove its eyes and replace them with Goodwitch's strobes. This will amplify its danger."

Oobleck stood quiet for a moment, then realized what his Lord meant. "Yes… yes!" He could barely contain his excitement. "Wonderful idea, my Lord! Wonderful idea!"

Lord Ozpin then turned on his heel and walked towards the door, clutching his cane behind his back. "I want both of them ready to go by the end of the week, no exceptions. Do not fail me." Venom dripped from his words.

"Yes, my Lord…" both said simultaneously, bowing. They remained bowed until Lord Ozpin exited the room.

Oobleck was the first to stand up straight again. "Well Goodwitch, it seems like our two departments will be working on something together for once."

Goodwitch chuckled. "Indeed. Whatever Lord Ozpin is planning for those rebels, our creations will ensure it will be a success!"

Goodwitch hurried over to her station to finish the final touches on her machine. Oobleck strolled over to the table with the body on it. Port was hunched nearby, grinning and growling.

Oobleck looked down at the mutilated corpse before him. He leaned down and sniffed her pink hair. It smelled revolting… and sexy. He chuckled.

"Now…" he said, pulling a pair of gloves out of his pocket and snapping them on, "shall we, my dear?"


	17. Chapter 13: Relationships

**Chapter 13: Relationships**

Jaune sighed and leaned back against the wall. His arm still ached from the other day. The bandage wrapped around it was itchy, but necessary. After the fight at the tower, the two Huntsmen, two Huntresses all went in for medical attention; they had to do it before Lord Ozpin was informed of their failures, otherwise they would not have gotten any at all. Now, as punishment for failing to even capture the rebels, the four of them had to spend a week in solitary confinement. Jaune was not sure what Lord Ozpin would do to Weiss, as if he cared.

Solitary confinement, to anyone outside of Ozpin's forces, would seem like sheer torture. And the first time he was put in, Jaune did think of it as that. The concrete box he was kept in was only six feet high and maybe as long and wide. The room was always pitch-black; Jaune could not even see his hand in front of his face. After a few days, he would begin to choke as he ran out of breathable air. The only opening was a pipe about as big around as a drinking straw in the right corner of the cell, which provided just enough air to keep him conscious and miserable for the entire ordeal. The only food provided was a scrap of bread that was pre-placed in the cell, leading to it being stale and stinking. It was up to the prisoner to regulate how much of it they ate a day, and Jaune had learned to skip eating every other day in order to best save it.

Yes, anyone who had never been in one of these cells before may consider this torment. But Jaune was accustomed to the pain; he had been in here many times. And when one has been in solitary confinement enough, one learns tricks to make the week a little less horrible. Tricks that Lord Ozpin did not know about, and could never know about.

As thick as the concrete walls were, a strong, muscular person like Jaune could knock on it hard enough so that the person in the adjacent cell could hear it. He had communicated with his neighbors like this until they found that the air pipe ran through at least two cells. Pyrrha had found a way to sneak in and pierce small holes in the pipes, small enough that no one would notice, but just large enough so that someone in one cell could hear someone talking in the other.

Jaune sighed again, then slowly sat up, favoring his arm, and crawled over to the pipe. He leaned his head down to it, and whispered, which was the loudest voice that he dared. "Pyrrha, are you awake?"

The cell was silent for a moment, but soon the pipe rattled slightly and his beloved's voice could faintly be heard. "Unfortunately," Pyrrha replied, her voice also a hushed whisper.

"How are you feeling?" Jaune asked.

"Not good," Pyrrha replied. "My neck is absolutely killing me. I'm pretty sure they had to pull out one of that maniac's teeth from it. It stings like hell and the bandage itches." She sighed. "So how about you?"

"Been better," Jaune whispered. "What is this, day three?"

"I don't know," Pyrrha huffed. "I rarely keep track. Helps me keep my sanity."

"How much bread do you have left?"

"Just enough to keep me alive for the next few days. I found a maggot in mine this time. Almost made me not want to eat it." Even through the pipe, Jaune heard Pyrrha gag slightly.

"Keep it," Jaune remarked. "Might be a little protein."

"You're disgusting," Pyrrha replied coldly. "Besides, it's already gone."

The two sat quietly for a moment, then Pyrrha spoke up.

"Who do you think that maniac was?"

"I don't know," Jaune replied, shaking his head. "When I first saw her, the Reaper had her on a chain and she looked like the weakest, most frail thing I had ever seen. But after she let her loose… I've seen some fucked up shit out there, but that was something else."

Jaune heard Pyrrha inhale sharply on the other side. "I wish I were over there or you were over here."

"I do too,"

"I want you to hold me in your arms… I want to lay on your shoulder… like that day in the countryside. Do you remember?"

Jaune nodded. "How could I forget?"

Pyrrha huffed. "In that one moment, there was nothing but us. There was no Rebellion, no Lord Ozpin, no Grimm, no war… it was just… magical."

Jaune moved his hand closer to the pipe. "And that moment will come again, my love. One day Lord Ozpin will have no more need for us. After the Resistance is destroyed, you and I will be able to escape wherever we want to. And every day will be like that moment: just the two of us. Now and forever."

Jaune heard Pyrrha giggle slightly. "Until we decide to have the baby."

Jaune smiled. "Of course, my dearest. And you, I, and our child will spend the rest of our days… in peace."

Unknown to Jaune, Pyrrha placed her hand on the wall separating them. "No matter what, I'll make this promise to you: I will cling, I will clutch; I'll hold onto you; I won't turn away. I won't leave, I won't go; I will stay with you all our days."

Jaune's smile grew. Even in the torture of this imprisonment, Pyrrha could still make him happy. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," Pyrrha whispered back.

Jaune sat up and kissed the wall between them. Little did he know Pyrrha did it too.

* * *

Cinder sat quietly. She ran the edge of her sword over the whetstone, the blade making loud metallic noises as it scraped against the stone. She was careful to be even and straight when sharpening her blades.

Emerald was sitting on the cot across from her, her arms crossed over her lap and watching Cinder work. She too was silent, but she finally decided to speak.

"Cinder, if there's something bothering you, please talk to me." Emerald said.

Cinder exhaled loudly through her nose. "Nothing's bothering me."

"Bullshit," Emerald said. Cinder was surprised. Emerald usually did not use that kind of language. "There's something bothering all of us. But you seem to be even more bothered. What is it?"

Cinder scoffed at her friend's question. "Fine. Everything's bothering me. Lord Ozpin's forces are bothering me. The Reaper is bothering me. Salem's health is bothering me. Our chance at survival is bothering me. My mental state is bothering me!" she said, her voice growing louder and harsher with each sentence. Then she turned her head to look to Emerald, her eye's glare cutting at her friend. "And right now, you're bothering me."

Emerald gasped softly, then quickly averted her eyes from Cinder. "Fine," she huffed. She stood up. "I guess I'll leave you alone then." She began to walk out of the room.

Cinder saw Emerald begin to walk away and came to her senses. "Wait!" she called.

Emerald froze, but did not turn back around to face Cinder.

Cinder sighed and closed her eye. "I'm sorry. I have no right to speak to you that way. Come back, please."

Emerald stood still for a moment, then turned on her heel and marched back to her cot. She sat down again, her arms folded, her head lowered, and her eyes shut.

Cinder sighed again. "I said I'm sorry. But I wasn't lying. Everything is bothering me. The entire world is out to get us, and what do we have to stop them? Some sharp metal, a handful of guns, and a few bits of Dust. Our chances aren't good." Cinder relaxed and set the whetstone down, holding her blade limply in her hand. "We need to face it. We're no Resistance. That would imply we have a chance of winning. No, we're survivors. Survivors that are getting closer and closer to losing that title every day. And I just made it worse. Now they'll hit us hard."

Emerald opened her eyes and relaxed her muscles, though her arms remained crossed and her head remained down.

"Cinder," she said, "weren't we founded to take Remnant back? If we don't have a chance, why are we still together?"

"We had a chance when we had Salem," Cinder replied. "But we're losing her more and more every day. Gods, if I only knew what that monster did to her! Then I could fix it."

Emerald sighed. "Cinder, I know you care about Salem. I really do. I care about her too. But… she's not the Salem we knew anymore. It may be time…" she trailed off.

Cinder's eye flashed back up towards Emerald. "It may be time to what?" she asked in a deep, serious tone of angry anticipation.

Emerald inhaled, shutting her eyes again, then opened them as she replied. "It may be time to let her go. We can barely gather enough supplies, and if her mind continues to go at the rate it has been, she'll be brain-dead in a matter of months."

Cinder stared at Emerald in silence, her mouth slightly open and her glare dark, darker than Emerald had ever seen it.

"How dare you suggest such a thing," Cinder growled. "She is the whole reason we're here. She is the one who brought us together, who trained us, who educated us. She is the reason you are alive."

Emerald adjusted her head so she could look into Cinder's eye. "I know you feel strongly about her, Cinder. But we need to start thinking long term. I don't want to hurt her anymore than you do. But like you said, we're survivors, and it's going to get harder to provide for her. I could have helped you back at the tower. But I had to be here watching her. Roman could have saved Neo, Cinder, if they were both allowed to leave the base. But we're constantly short on food, and pretty soon we won't even have the means to get medicine for her anymore."

Cinder's rage was building. She was wishing she had just let Emerald leave. "What are you suggesting?" she asked through her gritted teeth.

Emerald shrugged. "I don't know. I don't know, Cinder." Tears began to form in her eyes. "Every solution I think of hurts my heart. I don't want her to suffer, Cinder. I don't want her to hurt. And above all, I don't want her to die." She sniffled and turned her head away. "The most humane thing I can think of would be just sending her off in the wasteland, but even then I ache at the thought of her out there, cold and afraid and alone… I just can't do it."

Cinder saw the tears and softened, relaxing her tense muscles and jaw. She shifted on the cot.

"You figure she has a few months, right?"

Emerald sniffled. "Yes."

Cinder looked at her boots. "Then we'll make sure those last few months are comfortable for her. But when she goes brain-dead, we'll have to leave her."

Emerald sniffled again. "I know it's not what you want to do. I know I don't. Mercury and Roman don't either. But if we're going to survive, we'll have to leave her."

Tears began to form in Cinder's eye. She shut it to hold them back. "I know."

She whispered to herself, "I know."

* * *

Weiss walked along the hallway. Lord Ozpin had called her to a special meeting in an area of the fortress she had never been before. She was nervous to say the least; she had already seen what he had done to his own forces for failing him, so she knew this was likely related. Of course, he would not dare lock her up or hurt her; the SDC would not stand for it. There would be chaos. As much as she hated to admit it to herself, she feared the man.

As she approached the large marble door at the end of the hallway, it opened before her. She liked it when doors were opened for her. It was a symbol of her status. She walked into the room, her boots sending echoing footsteps in the massive chamber.

In the center of the massive room, Lord Ozpin stood. He rested on his cane, which he held with both hands in front of him. His frightening eyes stared grimly at her from behind his spectacles. Next to him was something covered in a white sheet. It was almost as tall as her and stood vertically upright, but its shape and texture were hidden by the milky shroud.

Weiss kneeled down, bowing her head. "You summoned me, my Lord?"

Lord Ozpin nodded. "Indeed, Schnee." he hissed. "You may rise."

Weiss stood up, attempting to stand as tall and as straight as she possibly could. She hoped her knees were not shaking.

Lord Ozpin eyed her, then continued. "You have recently failed me. My Huntsmen and Huntresses' report said that you engaged in combat with both the leader of the White Fang and the serial killer Ruby 'The Reaper' Rose."

That was her name? Weiss just assumed she did not have one.

"However, you failed to end their lives, and also failed to kill or capture any of the Resistance, which I specifically commanded you to do."

He turned and faced the object covered in the sheet. "Now, there must be consequences. But I know better than to punish you like I do my Huntsmen and Huntresses. So my blow will be to your pride."

Weiss raised an eyebrow. She did not know where this was going, nor how the mysterious object factored into it all.

"Effective immediately, I am replacing you." Lord Ozpin's words were cold and serious. "You will be removed from the task I have appointed you; a disgrace upon the Schnee family name."

Weiss gasped. Images of Winter and her father flashed before her eyes.

"Please, my Lord," Weiss pleaded, "I will not fail you again. I assure you."

"I know," Lord Ozpin spat back. "But in order for me to trust in your abilities and your family name again, you must prove yourself to me."

Weiss bowed her head in respect. "What must I do, my Lord? How shall I gain back your favor?"

Lord Ozpin turned his head towards her with a look of displeasure on his face. "The weapon concealed under this cloth runs on a supply of Dust. Though it takes very little to fuel, I am planning to keep it active twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Your company is going to supply it with said Dust free of charge and without question. Consider it reimbursing me for my wasted time and resources."

Weiss kneeled. "Of course. It shall be done, my Lord." She stood back up. She hesitated a moment, then decided to risk a question. "My Lord? May I ask what the weapon is?"

Lord Ozpin's gaze turned somehow even colder and more sour. However, despite his blackened gaze, he swiftly reached over and yanked the sheet off of the object, pulling the cloth to the ground.

Weiss could not believe her eyes. Before her stood what she could only describe as a metal skeleton: a chrome skull with jaws full of sharp teeth settled upon a silver-colored torso, with a ribcage full of pointed ribs housing a mess of red and orange wires and cables. The arms and legs were thin, and they ended in hands and feet with long, sharp digits. But what frightened Weiss the most were the eyes: two dim red lightbulb-like machines that rested in each thin eye socket. It looked angry and menacing.

Lord Ozpin broke her stunned silence. "Built by my personal mechanic Glynda Goodwitch with a little help from Atlas' own General Ironwood. I trust you are familiar with him?"

Weiss nodded. She had worked closely with the general and the Atlas military in the past, supplying them with Dust in exchange for POWs to use in her mine and factories.

Lord Ozpin placed one of his icy hands on the machine's shoulder. "The Prototype Endothermic Neurological Networked Youth." His voice sounded unimpressed despite him showing off. "It will be used for infiltration and assassination. A mechanical terminator." He looked down at the machine. "It will succeed where you and the others failed: it will locate, infiltrate, and eradicate the Resistance."

He turned to face Weiss. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a fire Dust crystal. "Shall we boot it up?"

Weiss was afraid enough of Lord Ozpin, but him asking a rhetorical question while standing next to that mechanical… monstrosity was almost too much for her nerves to handle. She hoped that she would never feel fear like this again.

Without a word, Lord Ozpin whirled around and rammed the crystal into the machine's ribcage. The Dust began to rumble and glow as it was heated up inside the monster's innards. Once the crystal was steadily glowing, Weiss was horrified as its previously dim eyes began to glow a bright, terrifying red. Its fingers and toes wiggled, its mechanical joints whirring and clinking as they moved. Its head shifted back and forth, and its jaw suddenly swung open, then slammed back closed with a clang. It shifted its shoulders and its hips, then stood still. As if it were not terrifying enough, Weiss jumped when it spoke.

"System check complete," it said in a feminine, but distorted and tinny voice. "All systems online. Power at 100 percent capacity." Its skull-like brow lowered.

Lord Ozpin turned back to Weiss, who did her best to hide her fear.

"Admittedly impressive, I would say." Hearing him give a word of praise just added to the dread Weiss was feeling. "But there is one more thing. On top of the Dust you will be supplying, I have a bit of a… challenge for you."

Weiss noticeably jumped as there was a loud clanging on the other end of the room, and stared in awe as one of the walls opened to reveal another large room. However, it was pitch-black and Weiss could not see inside. Suddenly she saw something move forward inside, stepping into the light. She gasped and took a step back as she took in what she was seeing.

A massive suit of armor, easily eleven feet tall and holding a sword longer than she was in one of its hands. It was colored a dark silver, reflective enough to be noticeably metal, but dark and matte enough to blend in with the shadows. Beneath its helmet was… nothing. It was an abyss of empty black.

"This is a man-made Grimm," Lord Ozpin explained. "It is an amalgam of several possession-type Grimm that we have captured and combined, then forced into this object. It is one of my personal Grimm… a pet, if you will. A pet that is mine to torture and torment as I please. But I've grown bored of this pet. So, to prove yourself to me and restore my faith in your family name, you will fight it, and you will kill it. Only then will you have proven yourself to me."

With that, Lord Ozpin began walking past her, the chilling robot following close behind. He walked past her, but stopped once he was behind her. The robot continued and exited the room.

"And if it kills you," Lord Ozpin hissed, "then my suspicions will have been confirmed." Then he continued walking. Weiss drew her rapier and stepped forward, her monstrous foe doing so as well.

Lord Ozpin stepped out of the room, the door closing behind him. The machine was waiting. He looked into its red eyes. "Are you ready for deployment?"

The machine stared back at him. "Affirmative, my Lord." Its metal brow dropped again, giving it a look of anger and determination.

"I am combat ready."


	18. Chapter 14: Unclean

**Chapter 14: Unclean**

Blake turned over on the cot, panting. Sweat ran down her naked body, and was especially built up around her mask. She ran her hand through her hair, brushing over her feline ears on top of her head as she did so. Her bosom heaved with every pant as she caught her breath.

Ilia, who was just as sweaty and out of breath, scooted closer to Blake and pressed up against her. Blake felt the girl's smooth, moist skin press up against hers, which did not help in calming her down.

"That… was… amazing…" Ilia said in between breaths, still shaking and squirming from the intensity of her climax. She laid her head down on her leader's shimmering shoulder. "Thank you… Blake…" she panted as she closed her eyes.

While Blake was not unappreciative of the girl's company, her mind was wandering from the partner at her side back to her failure at the tower. It had been over a week since the battle, and she was still raging over the fact that Adam Taurus had gotten away. What made matters worse was that he had actually found the Resistance group he had been helping, so now had a team of allies protecting him. No matter how much she tried, she could not seem to shake the anger she had been feeling since she was forced to retreat. For the past week she had been taking her fury out on the trees and Grimm of the Forever Fall forest where they were camped, but nothing seemed to reduce her rage. She had finally tried to relieve her tension by spending a night of passion with Ilia, but even now her hatred and need for revenge was dominating her thoughts. Careful not to jostle or disturb Ilia beside her, Blake clenched her teeth and squeezed the hand not wrapped around Ilia's waist into a tight fist. The sweat pooling around her mask was beginning to itch, and she briefly considered removing it. But no, no one, not even Ilia, could see the face that lied beneath.

It was not long before the exhausted Ilia fell asleep, and Blake lay on the cot in silent rage. She wanted nothing more than to go looking for Taurus again, but she had been gone too much recently, and her people needed her. She considered what troops they could spare to hunt Adam down, but everyone would be needed for an upcoming raid on a Schnee mine. As Blake seethed and considered her options, she suddenly got an idea. Some of the pressure on her temples seemed to dissipate as she realized that she had an asset that she was not taking full advantage of: one of her allies, a magnificent bastard in Vale, may be of help to her.

Of course, there were downsides. If she went through with it, the annoying bastard would probably give her a hard time as well as demand money for such a task. The bastard was a crime kingpin, a vile gangster with an army of bounty hunters under his command. If she offered up the right price, the bastard was sure to deliver Adam Taurus and even the other Resistance right into her fingertips.

While it might cost her, Blake decided it was worth it to receive Adam Taurus' head on a silver platter. She exhaled deeply, deciding she would visit her ally the next day. For tonight, however, she would try to enjoy her company.

* * *

Weiss stepped out of the shower, the excess water running down her pale figure. She always preferred to take cold showers for whatever reason; they just seemed to fit her icy personality better. However, this shower she decided to make warmer than she usually did. She felt dirty and exhausted, having spent over two hours fighting Lord Ozpin's Grimm. Every bone in her body ached, and she was ready to wash the sweat and blood off to finally be clean again. The Grimm was not the most intelligent foe she had ever faced, but was certainly one of the strongest. She could not block the swings of its blade with her rapier; the giant armor would have crushed her. So the entire ordeal was a dodging game, constantly trying to outmaneuver the colossus while finding the occasional opportunity to strike at its joints. However, it was faster than she would have guesses, and struck her with its armored fists and boots more times than she cared to admit. After two hours, she finally pierced the armor and struck the monster on the back of the leg, causing it to kneel down and allow Weiss to stab into the creature's helmet, killing it. Now she just wanted to rest. For once, she envied the Huntsmen and Huntresses who were secluded in darkness and silence.

Weiss' nude form walked over to the mirror. Her sore, delicate hand reached up and wiped the condensation from the glass, allowing her to observe herself.

"You look like a wreck," Weiss murmured to herself. She usually cherished these brief moments of privacy because she could say or do whatever she wanted without it reflecting on her image, but now she felt lonely and upset.

Weiss reached up and slowly ran her thin fingers over the scar on her face, shutting her eye to see it in its entirety. She thought about the one who had given it to her, and wondered how Winter would have fared at the tower or even against the Armored Grimm. A loose drop of water ran from her snow white hair down her face, following almost the same path as the scar. It ran down her cheek, then down her neck, resting on her collarbone. Weiss sighed, causing the drop to come loose again, run down her chest, over her breast, and finally release on the underside of her bosom, falling from her body and dripping onto the floor.

Weiss barely noticed it.

* * *

Mercury was leaning up with his shoulder against the wall, and Roman was behind the kitchen counter, leaning against it with his arms crossed. Adam sat in the corner, running his finger along the chip in his mask. Emerald was standing by Cinder's side.

Roman shook his head. "It doesn't feel right," he said.

Cinder nodded. Her explaining what their options were regarding Salem was, as she expected, not received well. While Adam sat aside, Mercury had been very vocal about his disagreement and Roman had been silently resistant.

"I know it doesn't," Cinder replied. "But Emerald and I have given it thought for a couple days. We can't support her anymore."

Mercury sneered. "I expected better of you, Cinder."

Cinder glared at him. "Weren't you the one who was rolling their eyes at her, complaining that she was always rambling?"

Mercury stood up straight. "Look, just because she gets on my nerves every once and a while doesn't mean I hate her. I respect her just as much as you do. Without her, I wouldn't be walking today. My dad would have just taken my legs and left me to rot in a gutter."

Mercury glanced down at his legs. He ran his hand along one, feeling the hard metal underneath. "She gave me legs to stand on. She made me new again. It hurt me too when she lost her mind. If anyone should go, it should be me!"

Cinder shook her head. "No. We need you."

"We need her too!" Mercury shouted.

"Knock it off, Merc." Roman interjected, his voice gruff and serious. He put his hands on the countertop and used it as support as he limped over towards Cinder. "As much as we hate to admit it, Cinder and Em are right. She'll be brain-dead by the end of the year, and even with the plants we're growing, we probably won't have enough medicine for even that long. No one intends to hurt Salem, but a lot of things happened that weren't intended. We didn't intend for her to get sick in the first place, nor did we intend for Tyrian and Hazel to not be back…" He paused and choked up a bit. "We didn't intend for Neo to die. But that's how things are. We want to keep Salem safe, but it's become increasingly clear that we don't get what we want."

Mercury looked away. "I don't know if I could let it happen. I'd feel unclean."

Adam had been listening to all of this in respectful silence. He had seen this woman Salem around the base quite a bit, but had never attempted to get to know her. From what he had gathered, she had been a wise and good mentor to these people before the bombing, but something happened during that time that made her lose herself mentally. He recalled his past mentor, a Faunus woman named Sienna Kahn. She was always no-nonsense and strict, but had a heart of gold and was his inspiration to begin the White Fang. When she died in a Schnee factory, Adam had felt similar feelings of guilt and regret that his allies were no doubt feeling now.

As Adam listened, he suddenly heard another sound other than his allies arguing. It was extremely faint, but just prominent enough to get his attention. He could not even make out what it was.

Just as Cinder was about to raise her voice at Mercury, Adam interjected.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Adam said respectfully. "But do you hear that?"

They all went silent as they listened. The base was so quiet one could hear a pin drop. Then Adam heard it again, though he still was not sure of what he was hearing.

Emerald perked her head up. "I hear it too," she said. "What is that?"

"I don't hear anything," Mercury muttered.

"Well shut up, and you might." Roman snapped back.

The base was quiet again, then the sound returned, slightly louder this time. Cinder, Mercury, and Roman all raised their heads higher, all now able to perceive the sound.

"What is it?" Cinder inquired.

Adam shut his eyes under his mask and tried to focus on the sound. "It sounds like… crying."

"Crying?" Cinder asked.

"I think so too," emerald said, also closing her eyes.

"Is it Salem?" Roman asked.

"No…" Adam murmured. "It sounds like a child crying. Like a little girl."

Cinder raised her brow, but was beginning to distinguish it based on Adam's suggestion.

"Will someone check outside?" she asked.

"I'll go," Emerald said, walking past her allies to the metal door of the base. She slowly reached up, grasped the grille, and slowly and as quietly as possible, slid it open and peered through it.

"Guys," she whispered. "you're not going to believe this."

Cinder was the first to react, slowly walking over to the door, her footsteps briefly breaking the silence. Emerald shifted aside, and Cinder stepped forward and peered through the gap.

The environment was the same dark, decrepit, demilitarized wasteland she had always known, with the shadows of the setting sun growing over the landscape. However, there was one abnormality: about a hundred feet from her was a girl, who looked like she was, at maximum, in her early teen years. She was short with pale skin and a mess of short-cut, tangled orange hair on her head. Her clothes appeared to be a tattered white blouse, a pair of dirty grey overalls, and torn black stockings full of holes and rips. Even from the distance, Cinder noted her bright green eyes and noted large freckles on her cheeks.

The girl had tears streaming down her face and was wincing in pain with every step she took. Under her arm was a worn-out crutch, and she had her left leg raised as to not put pressure on it. She cried as she limped forward, sniffing loudly and gasping in between sobs.

"Oh my gods," Cinder muttered. "What's a little girl doing here?"

* * *

Blake walked quickly through the wasteland. She hoped no Grimm would spot her; she was in too great a hurry to be bothered with them at the moment. She kept her eyes forward on her destination: a small building underneath a collapsed bridge. After peering around one last time to check for Grimm or other unsavory characters, she reached a metal door and knocked on it.

The grille almost immediately slammed open, and a pair of ugly eyes peered out. They sized Blake up (annoyingly pausing on her breasts), but then looked hard at her mask.

"What's the passphrase?" the man with the ugly eyes asked in a gruff voice with a long drawl.

Blake huffed. They knew who she was. But she understood the precautions that needed to be taken, and wanted to get them over with.

"The real world isn't the same as a fairytale," Blake said just loud enough for the man to hear.

Even from the other side of the door, Blake could see the man nod. "Now state the password."

Blake nodded. The security passphrase was the same every time, but the password was different depending what one's business was.

"Stowaway," Blake said.

The man nodded again, then slammed the grille shut. There was a second of silence, then the metal door creaked open. Blake could hear the music from inside. She swiftly stepped in, and the man shut the door behind her.

"Long time no see, High Leader Belladonna." The ugly man smiled at her, revealing a missing tooth.

"Spare me the pleasantries, human." Blake sneered. "Just take me to him."

The shady man nodded, then began walking down the hall. Blake followed closely.

As they walked, the music grew louder. Soon, the dark hallway ended and Blake found herself in a brightly lit room. It had been some kind of dance club before the bombing, so none of the neon worked anymore, but high-powered lights illuminated a bar and an abandoned deejay booth. The bar was still operational, and had patrons lined up across it. On the former dance floor were long metal poles with naked women twisting around and rubbing against them in erotic pole dances: a tan girl with dusky rose hair, a dark-skinned woman with long blonde hair, and an extremely short girl with huge orange pigtails and a rainbow tattooed on her arm. As Blake walked past, she saw a pair of women staring her down near the boombox playing the techno music: one in an expensive-looking outfit peering at her over a pair of dark sunglasses, and a brunette rabbit Faunus with her arms crossed and a sour expression on her face.

The shady man led Blake away from the dance floor to a door just left of the bar. He nodded to the man behind the counter: a tall black man wearing a fedora and sunglasses. The man nodded back, then pressed a button on the underside of the counter. The door unlocked with an audible click, and the man held the door open as Blake walked through.

The hallway was dimly lit, with a large pair of double doors on the far end. The man stepped out, then spoke.

"You know the drill. Tell the second-in-command the next passphrase, and just knock on this door again when you're done." With that, he shut the door behind him, leaving Blake in the hallway.

Blake walked with a brisk pace to the other end. Sitting next to the double doors in a cushioned chair was another man, much younger and more handsome than the other, with bright blue hair and a pair of glasses resting on his nose. He looked up when he heard Blake's footsteps approaching, and immediately stood up and pushed his glasses up to his forehead.

"Ah, High Leader Belladonna. It's been a while." The man smirked. "I heard you lost something. Or should I say, someone."

Blake sneered. "I just want to get this over with as soon as possible. I don't care if you're his second-in-command, you're human, and I have no respect for you."

The man shrugged. "Well, can't say I didn't try to be civil." He crossed his arms. "What's the passphrase?"

Blake clenched her fists at the human's remark, but decided it was in her best interests if she did not start trouble.

"Journey to the east," she said.

The man chuckled slightly, then turned and opened the left side door for her. He opened his mouth to make another remark, but Blake stormed past him and into the room before he could say anything.

The room was large and dark. Two bodyguards stood on either side of the door: a massive, seven foot man with a giant sword on his back, and a thin boy with dark, scarred skin and copper-colored hair.

In front of her, behind a desk and sitting on a chair comparable to a throne, was the bastard she had come to see. He smiled upon seeing her, standing up from his seat.

"Well well! My favorite pretty kitty, come to hang out with me!" He beamed, making Blake increasingly angry.

"We may be allies, but you will address me as 'High Leader Belladonna' and nothing else. Do you understand?" Blake growled through clenched teeth.

The bastard recoiled and raised his hands up in front of. him, still grinning. "I'm sorry, Your Worship. I forgot it's all work and no play with you. Shame, really, as I know you and I could… have some fun…" He winked. "…if we wanted to."

Blake clenched her teeth. This was the downside she had considered the previous night.

The bastard sat back down. "So, 'High Leader Belladonna', what brings you here? Have I finally outlived my usefulness to you, and you're here to kill me for not being a part of your group?"

Blake shook her head. "Unfortunately, no. I'm here to put a bounty on someone."

The bastard laughed and leaned forward. "A bounty, eh? What, your subordinates in the White Fang can't find someone? I've heard through the grapevine that former High Leader Taurus hasn't been seen with you much anymore."

"Yes, the bounty is on him." Blake sneered. "He is a traitor and a deserter, and I am willing to pay good money if you bring him to me, alive and unspoiled."

The bastard grinned and leaned back. "Well, my bounty hunters will be pleased to hear that." He raised an eyebrow. "How much is the White Fang willing to offer for the retrieval of this traitor?"

"A hundred thousand Lien." Blake responded.

The bastard was noticeably impressed. "A hundred thousand, eh? While it's true that Lien isn't worth as much after the economy around here collapsed… that's still a pretty payday. You've got a deal, Belladonna. Pay up, and I'll have every one of my hunters on the search for him."

Blake glanced back and forth, then reached into her satchel and pulled out a bag of Lien. She threw it down onto the desk. The bastard grinned.

"Don't make me wait long," Blake huffed. Then she stared the bastard right in the eyes. "And don't disappoint me, Wukong." She turned and began walking away.

"No worries, Belladonna." Sun Wukong called to her as she stepped out the door. "The Golden Monkey always delivers."


	19. Chapter 15: Metal

**Chapter 15: Metal**

Cinder strained to help the girl stand. She did not look it, but she was heavy. Cinder helped the limping girl over to a chair at their table and gently set her down into the seat.

"T-thank you," the girl shuttered between sobs.

Cinder bent down to get to her level. "What's your name?" she asked in the kindest voice she could muster.

The girl looked at her with large, wet eyes. "Penny," she answered.

"Hi, Penny." Cinder smiled. "My name's Cinder. Over there is Emerald, behind the counter is Roman, over at the table is Adam, and over in the corner is Mercury."

Roman nodded slightly while Mercury stood still with a look of concern on his face. Emerald walked over and placed a hand on Penny's shoulder.

"Hey Penny," Emerald said gently. "May I ask what you're doing all alone? Where are your parents?"

Penny hung her head. "I don't know. We were living in a basement after the bombings; my father, my mother, and me. But we went out to look for food, and then there were all these Grimm… so many Grimm…" Tears ran down her face as she began to choke up. "We… we got separated… but not before one of those Boarbatusk ones rammed my leg… I found a crutch in an old medical tent, but It's been three days and I still haven't found them…"

Emerald put her hand on the girl's head and ran her fingers through her orange hair in a comforting manner. "Shh…" she soothed, "It's going to be okay. Would you like something to eat? Maybe some water?"

Penny shook her head. "No… I had to eat a rat this morning because I was so hungry, and now I don't feel good."

Cinder reached into her pocket. She was glad to feel a piece of cloth still inside. She pulled the cloth out and dabbed the tears on Penny's face away with them. "You poor thing," she said sweetly. "Well if you change your mind, just ask any of us. And if you feel you need to throw up, just yell and we'll bring you a bin. Don't worry. Everything's going to be alright now."

Just then, a load moan and a mumble came from the hall. All eyes turned to see Salem stumbling over, muttering to herself and glancing at the walls with confusion and caution.

"…prepare your guardians, build your monuments…" she mumbled loudly.

Penny recoiled a bit in the chair. "Who's that?" she asked.

"That's Salem," Cinder replied. "She's a little sick too. We're helping her get better." Cinder hated having to lie, but if there was anything to make Penny feel safer and more comfortable, she would do it. She glanced over at Emerald. "Emerald?"

Emerald nodded, already knowing what Cinder was asking of her. She walked over to Salem and put her hand on Salem's shoulder. "Come on, Salem. You still need more rest."

Salem's vacant eyes slowly moved over to Emerald as Emerald turned her around and began leading her back down the hall.

"Guardians. Monuments. Guardians. Monuments. Guardians! Monuments!" Salem rambled as she walked, almost yelling towards the end. Emerald led her down the hall and into her room.

Roman leaned over the counter. "Do you need anything, Penny? Bandages, ice packs, a blanket?"

Penny nodded. "A blanket would be nice. Thank you."

Roman reached over to a small cupboard next to him and pulled out a thin blanket with a picture of the moon sewed onto it. He handed it to Cinder, who draped it around Penny. Adam watched in silence.

"Penny," Cinder asked, "do you know which way you came from? If you know, we'll be able to help you find your parents."

Penny sniffled slightly. "We… were living not far from Beacon Fortress. We were about an hour's walk from home when the Grimm attacked… then I just tried to keep walking straight."

Roman nodded and looked up at Cinder. "Somewhere over on the east side?"

"Sounds like it," Cinder replied, putting her fingers on her chin.

Penny shifted in her seat. "How long have you all been here?" she asked.

Cinder glanced back down to her. "Ever since the bombings, really. Before Salem got sick, she set us up here… and we've been surviving ever since."

Penny nodded. "How many of you are there? Is it just you six? Because there were only three of us in the basement, and we could barely get enough to just take care of us."

Cinder sighed. "Right now, yes. There are only six of us right now. There used to be more, but they had to leave." Cinder figured she'd just reference Tyrian and Hazel, and not bring up Neo. She wanted Penny to feel as though they could keep her safe, and telling her that one of them died brutally probably would not help.

Penny shivered, then stood up. "Do you have a bathroom I could use?"

Cinder nodded and started to speak, but Mercury cut her off.

"Hold up," he said in a grim, fast tone. "I have some questions for you."

Cinder rolled her eye. "Come on, Merc. Don't stop the poor girl from using the bathroom for this."

"No." Mercury barked back at her in the most defiant tone Cinder had ever heard him use. "She's going to answer my questions."

Cinder sighed and shook her head, but let Mercury continue.

"You said you'd been wandering for three days. You've only eaten once during that?"

Penny nodded. "Yes, I couldn't find anything until this morning."

Mercury scowled. "You also said you lived with your mother and father. What are their names?"

Penny looked at the ground. "My father's name is James. I actually don't know what my mother's name is. I've never heard anyone say it."

Cinder was getting angrier and angrier at Mercury's treatment of their guest. "Mercury, that's enough! You're going to upset her!"

Mercury's angry gaze snapped over to Cinder. "One more thing," he said slowly and deeply. He looked over at Penny with the most menacing glare Cinder had ever seen him give.

"I know you aren't who you say you are. I had suspicions at first, but now I have my confirmation." he said through gritted teeth.

Penny looked up at him. "What… what do you mean? Why do you think that?" she said with fear in her voice.

"Because you're standing there," Mercury said slowly.

"What's wrong with her standing there?!" Cinder practically screamed.

Mercury glanced over at Cinder briefly, then fixed his eyes back on Penny. Then he said, slowly and quietly, "Isn't your leg supposed to be broken?"

* * *

Lord Ozpin stormed into the laboratory. He was going to have Oobleck's head on a platter for not delivering by his deadline.

Dr. Oobleck was standing next to his operating table, wiping blood and mucus off of the metal. He stood straight as Lord Ozpin stomped in.

"Ah, my Lord." He grinned slightly. "What can I do for you?"

"I thought I told you to have your experiment ready by the end of the week," Lord Ozpin growled loudly. "Goodwitch's is already deployed. Where's yours?"

Oobleck raised and eyebrow. "Didn't they tell you? I completed it last night. I did not wish to disturb you so late in the night, so I arranged for its deployment around the same general area as Goodwitch's project. It should be there by now. Port was supposed to relay the information to one of your Huntsmen or Huntresses this morning."

Lord Ozpin's brow furrowed in frustration, but Oobleck had done what he asked. The blame… the punishment… would have to go to someone else.

"I see," Lord Ozpin huffed angrily. "I trust you'll see to it that Port is punished accordingly?"

Oobleck nodded. "Of course, my Lord."

Lord Ozpin did not waste another second. He whirled around and stormed out of the laboratory.

Oobleck shrugged. At least he was not the one taking the heat for this. While it would be a shame to lose the extra help, Oobleck never really liked Port anyway. Oobleck reached over to a countertop nearby and picked up a rusty hacksaw on the table. He eyed it for a moment, then glanced away.

"Oh, Port!" Oobleck called.

* * *

A hush fell upon the room. Both Roman and Cinder froze, with Cinder's eye still on the girl. Emerald had just reentered the room, and stared at Penny in confusion. Adam leapt to his feet and threw his hand onto his sword handle, but stood still in anticipation. Mercury stood still as well, but his heavy breathing was noticeable, and his hands were clenched in tight fists.

Penny stared at Mercury for a moment, a look of concern still on her face. Suddenly it changed, turning completely serious and grim.

"Well done, Mr. Black." Penny said, her reply slow and solemn. "What made you see it before the others?"

Mercury's expression did not change as he replied. "You weren't limping right," he said.

Penny's brows shifted down. "I see," she replied. Her voice sounded different; it was colder, more… metallic. "And how would you know that?"

"Because…" Mercury said, his expression growing furious. "I've been limping my entire life!" He threw his hands down and grabbed onto his pant legs, tearing away large pieces and revealing a pair of metal prosthetics underneath. They ended with his weaponized boots, which covered his metallic feet.

Cinder gasped. She knew Mercury had prosthetic legs, but she never seen them. She had not realized the damage had been so extensive. She knew the prosthetics were complex, but not as sophisticated and sturdy as what she was seeing.

As Mercury and Penny stared each other down, everyone noticed something change about Penny. Slowly but noticeably, her sea-green eyes turned a deep red.

"Congratulations." The voice that came out of the girl barely resembled like the one that they had heard before. It was slow, tinny, and echoed in her throat. "Even with half of your body mechanical, you're still more human…"

Suddenly, Penny reached up and sunk her slender fingers into her face, right below her right eye. She clawed at the skin, then pulled with a loud ripping sound. Emerald audibly gasped, and everyone took a step back. Penny pulled the skin away from its face, eventually removing a large strip that stretched from its brow to its chin. As the tear finished, everyone could see what lied beneath: a metallic skull, with a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth, and a horrifying red eye peering from the socket.

"…than I am." Penny growled in its metallic voice.

Without warning, Mercury raised his leg and slammed it into Penny's chest, firing the blasts from his boots as he kicked. Penny took the full force of the impact and slammed a few feet into the wall behind it.

"Grab Salem and go!" Mercury shouted, raising his fists.

Penny stood back up, then charged and tackled Mercury in his gut, causing him to gasp for air as he was thrown down to the ground, crashing onto the floor. He winced in pain as his back slammed against the hard stone, then opened his eyes to see Penny raising her fist above his face. It threw the fist down, and Mercury swerved his head out of the way just in time. The fist slammed against the stone with a loud bang and crack. Penny lifted its arm to reveal the stone had cracked under the weight of the impact. The skin from its knuckles and fingers had been shredded by the blow, revealing four metallic digits curled into a tight fist.

Suddenly Penny attacked with the other fist, throwing it down towards Mercury's face again. Mercury again barely dodged, the fist crashing like a meteor onto the floor next to him.

Suddenly, Penny was thrown off of him as Cinder dropkicked the machine from the side, slamming it into the counter. Roman saw his opportunity and vaulted over the countertop, sliding his injured legs across it. He carefully set down on the other side, glanced around briefly, then grabbed Penny's crutch and used it to help himself quickly limp towards the hall. Emerald flew towards him, throwing his arm around her shoulder and helping him up and into the hall to retrieve Salem.

Cinder stood still as the metal monster got back up. She had never seen anything like this. This was all her fault. If she had never stood up to Lord Ozpin the way she did, he would have never resorted to this. She did not even have her swords; they were still in her room.

Penny leapt to its feet, then swung a fist at Cinder. Cinder dove out of the way. Mercury raised his leg to kick again, but Penny grabbed it and whirled around, carrying Mercury with it with superhuman strength. It released his leg, causing him to fly into the table and crash down o top of it, splitting the table in half with a loud snap.

As Penny was turning around, Adam attacked. He unsheathed his sword and sliced at Penny's abdomen. The blade cut through the clothes and struck the machine, but was not able to get through it. Penny bent over and recoiled from the impacts, but made no noise. Adam swung again at the robot's face, but it threw its hands up and clapped them together as the blade was nearing, catching the sword and preventing it from making contact. Penny threw the blade aside and rushed forward, but was suddenly struck from the side and forced back.

Cinder, Mercury, and Adam turned to see Salem, Emerald, and Roman at the opening to the hall. Emerald was supporting both of the others, and Roman had his cane raised with the end open and smoking. He lowered the cane, then lifted the arm he had draped over Emerald.

"Cinder!" he yelled, throwing what was in his hands on the ground next to her. Cinder watched as her swords clattered onto the floor. She wasted no time reaching down and retrieving them.

"Emerald!" Cinder shouted. "Take Roman and Salem out the back way. Head for the emergency checkpoint, and don't look back!"

Emerald's eyes widened in concern. "But Cinder, I-"

"Do it!" Cinder shouted, cutting her off. She then turned to face Penny again. Emerald silently nodded, then did her best to pivot around and go back down the hall to the back exit.

As Penny stood, its clothes and skin around where Adam had cut tore and sagged off, revealing a mess of metal and wires beneath its humanistic façade. As Cinder raised her swords, Adam readied his, and Mercury straightened his stance, Penny lifted its hand. The hand sunk into the wrist, and was quickly replaced with a metal clamp holding a circular saw blade. An unseen engine revved, and the saw began spinning. Penny's other hand vanished, and a short blade that looked like a half-scissor rose out of its arm.

Cinder was the first to attack, throwing her blades down at the robot. Penny raised its saw and blade to block the blow, the saw scraping and sparking against the swords. Penny pushed Cinder off as Adam swung towards the stomach area and Mercury dropped to kick the legs. Penny used the blade to block Adam's attack, and dropped the saw on top of Mercury's leg, grinding and scratching at his prosthetics. Cinder took the opportunity to rush forward and stabbed at Penny's stomach area. The blades sliced through the skin and lose clothes, but were halted when they struck the solid metal of Penny's endoskeleton underneath. Nevertheless, Cinder pulled and tore the skin and clothes off of the machine, revealing more wires encased in a small metal sphere underneath a set of shiny grey ribs. Penny Glanced down at the damage, then rammed its head into Cinder's chest.

Cinder gasped as she felt the impact strike her, knocking the air from her body. She felt her breasts sting and sternum crack as the metal skull struck her, knocking her backwards. She raised one of her hands, still holding a sword, over the point of impact and winced as she skidded to a stop.

Penny threw both men off, then swung the saw at Adam's neck. He raised his sword just in time, blocking the spinning blade and managing to jump away. Mercury raised his leg and kicked Penny square on the bottom of its jaw, causing it to slam into its skull and throw its head back. Penny staggered backwards a bit. Then lowered its head and glared at the three.

"Targets: three," it said in a somehow even more robotic voice than before. "Threat level: low to moderate. Initiating Firebomb mode."

Cinder lowered her swords slightly. "Firebomb mode? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

A red light suddenly glowed from within Penny's ribcage. It adjusted its jaw. "It means… you… are… terminated."

Suddenly a loud beeping sounded from Penny's body. All three of them had encountered enough bombs to know what was happening.

"Run!" Adam yelled, sheathing his sword and turning to sprint to the back entrance. Cinder and Mercury began to turn too, but Penny rushed forward and tackled Mercury to the ground. It raised its saw and held it over Mercury's head, then brought it down. Mercury closed his eyes and prepared to die, but was surprised when it did not happen and he instead heard the sound of metal grinding on metal. He opened his eyes to see Cinder holding her sword's flat blade between the saw and Mercury's skull. The beeping grew faster as Penny swung its blade at Cinder. Mercury took the opportunity to throw the robot off, causing it to miss Cinder. Mercury leapt up and kicked it once in the face, causing a metallic squeal and crack as he dislocated its jaw. Mercury turned to run to the back exit, but Cinder grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"We won't make it to the back exit in time! Jump over it and go to the front!" Cinder yelled.

Mercury obeyed and vaulted over the recovering machine, throwing open the large metal door and rushing out. Cinder jumped over as well. Penny raised its blade as Cinder jumped over it, cutting her calve as she passed over. Cinder yelped and landed on the ground, then limped slightly before reaching the door.

Just then, the beeping turned into one long squeal. Cinder knew she did not have time to make it to a safe distance. She jumped outside and slammed the door, then held onto the door for dear life.

The explosion was somehow even bigger than Cinder thought it would be. The impact struck the door like a wrecking ball, bending the metal while simultaneously heating it up to scalding temperatures. All around, the stone and dirt that concealed their hideout was sent flying out in a hail of earth, followed by a wave of fire. It was as if Lord Ozpin had dropped another bomb directly on their base. Cinder cried out in pain as the impact slammed the door into her, burning her exposed skin as she held on. Fire arced on all sides of her, but the door held firm and did not let any engulf her. Fiery light engulfed her vision, forcing her to close her eye to not go blind. Even though time seemed to slow, she hit the ground sooner than she expected. The door crashed to the ground and bounced away and out of her grip. She slammed on her back onto the stone and concrete of the demolished street, painfully bouncing once before skidding to a stop on the sharp gravel. Her swords, which had miraculously stayed in her hands, clanged on the ground, and Cinder released her grip on them and let them fall out of her burning hands.

Cinder winced and panted. Every inch of her exposed skin felt like it had a second-degree burn, and the back of her head, legs, and arms stung from the impact and were cut from the scraping stop. Blood trickled from her nose and ran into her mouth, tasting of dirt and sweat. Tears ran down from her eye. Her eyepatch felt like it weighed a million pounds. With every bit of strength she could muster, Cinder reached up and ripped the eyepatch off, feeling hot air rush into her empty socket.

Cinder lay there, her eye shut tight and panting. She coughed as smoke filled her lungs. She wanted to die. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder. She opened her eye to see Emerald hovering over her, a look of shock and worry frozen on her face.

"Cinder!" Emerald cried. "Can you hear me?"

Cinder could hear her, but was too weak and pained to properly reply. She opened her mouth to attempt it, but only let out a long guttural moan.

Emerald reached down and pulled Cinder up. Cinder winced as every part of her body cried out, and more tears poured from her eye. Emerald put her arms under Cinder's back and legs, lifting her up. She staggered forward, attempting to hold Cinder's weight.

Then, Cinder saw through her blurry vision Adam run up. He said something to Emerald, then turned around and bent down. Emerald strained, but dumped Cinder's limp body onto Adam's shoulders. Cinder cried out in pain, but Adam stood upright. Cinder glanced over, and saw Emerald run over and pick up Salem on her back. Roman was on Mercury's back. As soon as Adam hurried over, they all began running in the same direction.

Every bounce from Adam's stride was excruciating. Cinder's joints popped and squeaked as her limbs flailed, and blood leaked from her nose, forehead, and back. All she could hear was her sharp, quick breaths through her chapped, dry lips.

They had not gotten far when they suddenly skidded to a halt. Cinder looked up and saw Mercury, Emerald, and Roman staring with horror at something in front of them. Salem's eyes were shut tight in fear. She heard Adam's breathing quicken. Then Cinder noticed that Roman's eyes were filling with tears. They ran down his cheek as he clearly began mouthing "No no no…" Cinder tried to ignore the pain in her body and turned her sore neck to face in the direction everyone else was. As soon as she did, her eye widened and she whispered to herself.

"No," she whispered. "That's impossible."

Standing at the end of the street, illuminated by the pale moonlight, was a figure. It was short, with outstretched limbs, pale skin, and a blank expression. However, it was instantly noticeable the crude stitches that ran down the length of its body, across its arms, and all over its face and circling its black eyes. But the worst thing of all was that Cinder recognized the clothes, the face, and the pink and brown hair. Cinder heard Roman begin to sob.

"Neo?" he said weakly.


	20. Chapter 16: Tears

**Chapter 16: Tears**

Cinder tried to cry. She tried to shed a tear. But she was too dry, too sore to even muster a single salty tear for her friend.

Roman did not share the same issue. Tears streamed down his face as he stared, unblinking, at the figure before them. Emerald had her hands over her mouth, tears running down her cheeks as well.

"No!" Roman yelled. "No!"

Cinder was appalled. She had seen the worst of people over the years: Lord Ozpin, the Schnees, the Reaper… but whoever did this was truly a complete monster. Cinder could not decide if the abomination that stood before them was made to look like Neo, or if it was Neo… either way, it was sick and cruel.

It was Emerald's turn to lash out. "Why?!" she screamed. "Who are you?!"

The twisted Neo cocked its head with audible cracking and crunching. It fixed its black, lifeless eyes on them before standing completely still. Slowly, its mouth creaked open, revealing a gaping black and red maw lined with decaying teeth.

Then, from the back of its throat, it emitted most terrifying sound Cinder had heard in her entire life. It was a guttural moan crossed with some kind of heavy exhale, ended in a sharp, high-pitched note like a shriek. The fact that it came from the face of a beloved friend made it all the more horrifying.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light. Cinder blinked and squinted through the sudden brightness, and saw that the bright light was emanating from Neo's once black eyes. They were as bright as searchlights. Then, without warning, they began to rapidly flash in a strobe effect.

"What is this?" Cinder thought. "It must be some form of disorientation tactic; it'll attack us while we aren't able to see…" But Neo stayed still. The rapid flashing would have encompassed Cinder's entire vision if she had both of her eyes. She just hoped Salem was averting her eyes; she did not want her suffering a seizure, much less seeing Neo in such a horrific state.

Neo remained still. At this point, Cinder was too afraid to question it any more. They had to get moving; the explosion no doubt attracted Grimm, and there was always a chance that metal monster was still active.

"Guys, we have to go!" Cinder yelled.

"She's right!" Adam shouted. "We need to make a run for it!"

No one answered.

"Guys?" Cinder yelled. "What's wrong with y-"

Cinder glanced over at Mercury and Roman, and was shocked. They were staring at Neo, mouths agape, their pupils hugely dilated. They seemed frozen in place; neither moved a muscle, only stared at the light.

Cinder craned her sore neck to look over at Emerald and Salem. Emerald was frozen like Mercury and Roman, her pupils enormous and her mouth ajar, a slight hint of drool running from the edge of her mouth. Salem was curled up with her eyes shut tight, silently mouthing words to herself.

"Adam, what's going on?" Cinder asked frantically.

"I don't know!" Adam replied, clearly concerned. "What's wrong with them? Why won't they move?"

"It's like the lights have them in some sort of trance," Cinder said, growing more stressed by the moment. "But why aren't we affected?"

"It must be my mask," Adam said. "It blocks some of my vision. For you, it must be your missing eye. Whatever that light's doing, it must require an unobstructed view. We need to help them! Cinder?"

It was not after Adam had begun to speak that Cinder began to really focus on the light. His words seemed to fade away, and all that seemed to exist was the lights… the lights… there was no need to run. There was no need to resist. There were always the lights…

"Shit!" Adam yelled. Careful not to look at Neo's eyes, Adam adjusted Cinder on his back so he could reach her face. As soon as her dilated eye was in range, he threw his hand up in front of it.

Cinder's pupil returned to normal, and she blinked a few times. "What… what happened?"

Adam shook his head. "Looks like you can fall for it too. It just takes longer. Close your eye." Cinder obeyed and shut her eye tightly, leaving her in the dark.

With his hand now free, Adam raised it to shield his view, glancing back up at Neo, careful not to let any of the flashing lights reach his vision. Then he noticed that it was beginning to stagger forward in a twisted, janky nature towards them, quite quickly.

"Cinder!" Adam shouted. "Neo's headed for them! What do we do?"

Cinder thought for a moment, then attempted to stretch her legs. They hurt, but it was probably possible for her to stand. "How many of them can you carry at once?"

Adam cocked his head slightly. "Two, maybe. But you can't walk, much less run."

Cinder groaned as she extended a leg. "I think I can, actually. You need to put me down. Grab Emerald and Salem, and I'll snap Mercury out of it long enough for him to carry Torchwick away."

Adam shook his head. "This is a bad idea."

Cinder's brow dropped, her eye still shut tight. "But it's the best we have. Hurry!"

With that, Adam carefully but quickly set Cinder down. As her legs made contact with the ground, she yelped in pain and fell to her knees.

"Cinder!" Adam shouted. He bent down to pick her back up, still shielding his eyes.

"No!" Cinder yelled at him. "Get Emerald and Salem and go! Right now!"

Adam hesitated, but obeyed. He whirled around in place, then charged to Emerald, scooping both her and Salem on her back in his arms, throwing them both over his shoulder. He Emerald's eyes were still fixed on the lights and she was still drooling, and did not even react to Adam. Salem yelped from the sudden force, but stayed still and kept her eyes shut in fear. He began to sprint away from Neo, still covering his eyes.

Just as Cinder was about to stand up, suddenly she heard a horrific screech. It came from Neo. Before she knew it, she heard rapid but unnaturally paced footsteps run in Adam's direction. She peeked her eye open to see Neo disjointedly running after Adam, emerald, and Salem. With the weight Adam was carrying, it would only be a matter of time before Neo caught up to them.

However, the shift in Neo's position was optimal. Cinder strained to her feet, then rushed forward and shoved Mercury and Roman. They stumbled out of the light, and their pupils almost instantly shrunk.

"What the… what the fuck…" Mercury muttered, holding a hand to his head.

"What did it do to us?" Roman said, blinking rapidly.

"Some sort of trance," Cinder explained quickly. "Don't look at its eyes. We need to get out of here!"

"Go after her." Roman said suddenly.

"What?" Mercury replied. "Are you insane?"

"It's Neo!" Roman suddenly yelled at the top of his lungs, startling both Cinder and Mercury. "I can't see her like this!" Tears ran down his cheeks. "I just can't."

Mercury and Cinder glanced at each other.

"We need to help Adam anyway." Cinder said.

Mercury sighed and grunted as he readjusted Roman on his back, then sprinted after Neo. Cinder happened to glance over and see her swords lying on the ground. They must have skidded there after the explosion. She also saw three arrows from the archery range lying nearby, as well as a broken bow. As she reached down to pick up her tools, she got an idea.

* * *

Emerald was still entranced, as she faced the lights chasing after them. Adam huffed and strained, but he could not seem to outrun Neo. She was gaining, and quickly.

"A smaller more honest soul. A smaller more honest soul." Salem ranted quietly.

Mercury and Roman were close behind Neo.

"What do you plan to do?" Mercury asked. "I hate to tell you this, man, but that's not Neo. It may look like her. It may even be her body. But that's not her."

"I know," Roman said, wiping tears from his eyes. "I know what I have to do. She does not deserve this."

Roman reached into his pocket and pulled out his collapsed cane, which extended in his hand. He then reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a phial of fire Dust. Careful not to drop either, he slid the entire phial into the end of his cane. A reticle popped up, and he pointed it over Mercury's shoulder at Neo.

"This is going to be a little loud," Roman said.

"At this point, I don't care." Mercury replied.

Roman peered through the reticle, with the target he wanted to hit the least in front of him.

"I'm sorry, Neo." he whispered.

He fired, blasting fire from the end of his cane. Mercury cringed from the noise, but the blast hit its mark directly on Neo's back, causing it to fall forward with a blood-curdling screech. It fell directly on its face, blocking the lights from Emerald's view.

Emerald came to, blinking rapidly and wiping the drool from her chin. "What's going on? What happened?"

Adam heard the blast, the screech, and Emerald talk and knew it must be safe to stop. He skidded to a halt and, panting, looked behind him.

Neo extended its bend limbs and pushed itself up. It had only gotten its torso up when it screamed and spun its head back to look at Roman and Mercury, its neck audible cracking and its eyes still flashing.

Just as Mercury and Roman began to fall limp, Cinder skidded in front of them, eye shut tight. In her hands was a crude bow: her two swords, barely held together with string, with a single salvaged drawstring running between their blades. In her fist she held three arrows. Without opening her eye, she armed her bow with an arrow and pulled back.

"Take this, you monster."

Cinder flashed her eye open, her vision engulfed with flashing lights. She released, and the arrow flew straight. It found its target in Neo's left eye, shattering the bulb and darkening half of Cinder's vision. Just as she began to feel dizzy, Neo threw its head backwards, screeching and groaning loudly, taking its gaze off of them. Roman and Mercury stirred as Cinder set up her next shot.

Neo cracked its head back towards her, screeching. It began running towards her, arrow still embedded in its eye socket. Cinder released, and the other arrow flew directly into Neo's other eye. The strobe lights vanished as the other bulb shattered, embedding the arrow in the other eye socket. Neo screamed and flailed, blinded. It ran towards Cinder, gnashing its teeth and clawing at the air.

Cinder dropped the last arrow and pulled her bow apart into two swards again. She rushed up to Neo and swung her blades, blocking Neo's advance. Neo craned its neck and chomped at Cinder's face, but Cinder jumped back. As much as it disgusted her to think of, she knew this creature's weak spot.

She was there when it was made.

Cinder raised her sword and swung it down on Neo's head. The blade sunk deep into the skull at the crude seam, slicing all the way down to the neck. Neo's screech was cut off and replaced with gurgling and groaning, but its arms continued to claw at her. Cinder felt a tear run down her face as she took the other sword and rammed it into Neo's gut, exactly where the Reaper had struck the killing blow. Hesitating only for a moment, Cinder began sawing her way through the fragile flesh until she had almost split Neo open. Pus and blood leaked from the wounds, and suddenly the creature stopped moving altogether. Cinder shut her eye tight and began to sob as she pulled her blades out of her friend and let the body collapse onto the ground.

Cinder did not even open her eye to observe her kill. She simply turned around, fell to her knees, dropped her swords to her sides, and cried. She was not the only one crying.

If there was any feeling worse than this, Cinder never wanted to know it. Not only was her friend dead, but she had to die twice to be at peace. And the second time was by Cinder's own hand.

Mercury walked up to Cinder, still holding a weeping Roman. He placed his hand on her shoulder.

"You did what you had to do," he said solemnly. "That wasn't Neo."

Cinder just cried.

* * *

The debris shifted as the flames consumed more of the area. The Resistance's possessions burned or were buried. Where their base once stood, was now a flaming mound of earth and stone.

Suddenly, from below the mound, the ground shifted. Stone cracked as the ground gave way below it, and P.E.N.N.Y. emerged from the destruction, blackened with ash and dirt. Its red eyes scanned the area. It detected human tissue nearby, but it was deceased and did not match any of the members it had scanned. As it surveyed the environment, its interior communicator began to beep. P.E.N.N.Y. answered, and a holographic image of Lord Ozpin appeared before it.

"Report," he commanded.

"Affirmative," the machine replied hastily. "Resistance base destroyed. Casualties: one, identity unknown. Survivors have been identified as Cinder Fall, Mercury Black, Emerald Sustrai, Roman Torchwick, Adam Taurus, and a second unknown individual."

Lord Ozpin raised an eyebrow in annoyance. "Two unknowns? Show me the footage."

"Affirmative," P.E.N.N.Y. replied. It focused for a moment, its eyes shifting in their metallic sockets, before returning to normal. "Footage sent."

Lord Ozpin looked down at the screen on his desk. Before him, he got his first view of the rebels who dared oppose him. There was a woman with an eyepatch, a gruff-looking teen boy, a fit teen girl, a tall man with a bowler hat chomping a cigar, and a shady man with black clothes and a white mask resembling a Grimm.

"You poor thing," the woman with the eyepatch said in the recording. "Well if you change your mind, just ask any of us. And if you feel you need to throw up, just yell and we'll bring you a bin. Don't worry. Everything's going to be alright now."

Lord Ozpin scoffed. He was disgusted by the woman's kindness and hospitality.

Then the recording emitted a load moan. P.E.N.N.Y.'s recording shifted and showed another woman wandering out of a hall.

"…prepare your guardians, build your monuments…" the woman said.

Suddenly, Lord Ozpin threw his hands down on his desk with a slam and jolted to a stand. He stared with eyes of rage and fury at the screen.

"No," he growled through gritted teeth. "That's not possible."

Between his clawing fingers, sparks began to form. His eyes shifted from their natural colors to entirely black, and his hair began to glow a dim grey light.

He slammed a fist down on the desk, cracking the wood underneath the blow. A mysterious wind began to circulate around his office, blowing objects over and increasing in strength. As he bared his teeth, he spat the name he hated most from between them.

"Salem!"

* * *

They had walked until just before dawn, and finally stopped in a demilitarized house. Cinder had led her team into the house's basement: a small, cramped, cold concrete cube with a single window allowing moonlight in. Cinder finally got to sit down after what felt like an eternity, and the others finally got a chance to rest as well. They were all tired and exhausted. But none of them wanted sleep. How could they?

The room was silent for almost an hour, with Adam treating Cinder's wounds, Mercury treating Roman, and Emerald comforting Salem. No one said a word until Cinder spoke up.

"I know what our next mission is," she said just loud enough for the others to hear.

Roman turned his head towards her. "Mission?" he asked. "What do you mean, 'mission'? You're seriously thinking about that at a time like this? Face it, Cinder, we have nothing against them. We're through! Do you hear me? Through! This Resistance has amounted to nothing!"

"She was my friend too!" Cinder shouted, silencing Roman. She assumed that was where most of his rage was coming from, and was right. Roman quieted, but turned his head away.

"I know what we need to do next," Cinder said solemnly. "And none of you are going to like it, but I'm using my authority here. Our next move is this: we're going to attack Beacon Laboratory."

Every head turned towards her, even Salem's (though she had no idea what was going on).

Mercury shook his head. "That does it. You can't lead us anymore." His voice was grim and frustrated. "You have clearly lost touch with reality, and-"

"Shut the fuck up, Black!" Cinder shouted, so loud that Mercury winced. His ears were still sensitive from the blast earlier. Salem began to fuss, clearly startled by the noise.

Cinder sighed and controlled herself. "If we don't, they'll just keep pumping out murder robots and zombies." she said. "Did you think those two were bad? Wait until Lord Ozpin sends a fucking armada of Pennys and Zombie Neos after us. How long do you think we'll survive then?"

Everyone stayed silent.

Cinder leaned her head back. "This has to happen if we have any chances of surviving."

Emerald shifted, and for the first time spoke against her friend and leader. "Cinder," she said in the nicest tone she could muster, "Beacon Laboratory is basically a part of Beacon Fortress. It would take an army to breach it. Besides, look at us. We're in no condition to attack anybody. You and Roman can barely stand. How are we going to destroy Beacon Laboratory?"

Cinder shifted her gaze to Emerald, but then turned away, facing one of the concrete walls. "I don't know," she said in a voice just louder than a whisper. "but we have to."


	21. Chapter 17: Rain

**Chapter 17: Rain**

The next week was stormy. For seven nonstop days, Vale was engulfed in a violent downpour. The sky was almost always grey, except when a bolt of lightning streaked across and illuminated the weeping clouds. Thunder would crack across the sky, signaling more rain to come.

For Cinder, she could not think of a worse time for the weather to be the way it was. They had to make several trips back to the ruins of their hideout to salvage whatever they could find, which was not much. Roman found a few cans of beans from their pantry that were still intact, Emerald found her weapons buried under what used to be her and Cinder's room, and a few unopened vials of ice and lightning Dust were found underneath a collapsed support beam. All the time they searched, they were soaked from head to toe by the relentless torrent. They did not even have a way to cover themselves; all of their spare clothes were lost.

To make matters worse, the basement they were living in was leaking. Unlike the hideout where the leaks could be patched, now they had nothing to patch them with. They just had to endure the water and hope they were out before it flooded.

The basement was terrible. It was frigid all day and all night, as well as hard and dark. Whenever they were there, the Resistance had to pair up and huddle against one another for warmth. They had no blankets or sheets, and had to rely only on each other and the sopping clothes on their backs to keep them alive.

Salem was suffering the worst of all. She had not responded well to the new environment, and would often scream out in the middle of the night and ramble during the day. She was obviously frightened, and would sometimes begin striking her partner in fear when they touched her to huddle up. After about four days of living in the basement, Salem began hitting her head on a wall while mumbling about Grimm, and Emerald and Mercury had to stop her. She had left a sizable bloody cut on her forehead, but was otherwise fine for the time being.

Despite the rain, the Grimm had been out in full force. Beowolves circled the basement in the dead of the night, sniffing and growling. Cinder and Adam were forced to fight of a swarm of Ravagers one night coming back from the destroyed hideout, and Emerald had to take down a Boarbatusk that had wandered into the basement.

Cinder stood still, ceaseless raindrops running down her face and over her eyepatch, which was now made of a shred of one of her pant legs. Roman pushed a large piece of rubble aside and reached down, pulling a crushed jug that used to contain milk and a flattened cereal box out from beneath it. He turned to Cinder.

"There might be a bowl of cereal left in his box," he said. "No milk though. Do you want me to grab it?"

Cinder nodded slowly. "Yes. Every little bit helps."

Her stomach growled. She was so tempted to snatch the box from Roman and devour its contents. She had not eaten in two days, and even then her last meal had consisted only of a handful of salvaged trail mix. Everyone was starving.

Emerald dug under a mound of dirt with her hands, her sweat mixing in with the chilling rain. She pulled the earth aside, digging down where the old exit used to be. As she threw stone and dirt aside, she felt her hand hit something different. She reached down and pulled it out.

"Cinder!" Emerald called, holding her prize so Cinder could see it. "It's our Scroll! It survived!"

Cinder raised her head. "What? Really?" She hurried over the rubble over to her. Roman followed.

Emerald pressed the device's power button and held her breath. The screen was vacant for a few seconds, and then a red scree emblazoned with a black image of a queen chess piece appeared. Emerald whooped with joy as Roman sighed with relief.

"Do we try and contact them, let them know what happened?" Roman asked.

"Not a chance," Cinder replied. "We'd have to go back to the tower for that, and that place's security has probably doubled. We'll have to figure out communication later. For now, see if you can recover any blankets, sheets, or towels. Something to help us stay warm."

Both Emerald and Roman nodded, and Emerald gently shut off the Scroll and pushed it into her pocket. They ended up finding the salvageable remains of two blankets and a towel where the common room used to be. Cinder was slightly put off by the fact that one of them was the one they had given to P.E.N.N.Y. a week earlier.

Cinder looked up at the sky, careful not to get rain in her eye. The sky was growing darker, meaning nighttime was nearing. She shuddered from the cold, then called out to her allies.

"It's almost night. Let's head back now. We'll continue searching in the morning." She sighed and hung her head, then turned to head back.

Before she could begin walking, she felt the rain stop hitting her face. She looked up slightly to see Emerald holding the towel over her head. Emerald gently set the cloth down on her friends' head, giving her some much-needed protection from the icy downpour. Cinder looked at her friend, who smiled a sad smile. Cinder inhaled sharply and closed her eye. She felt like crying. Emerald put her arm over her leader's shoulder and leaned in to her. When she was only a few centimeters from Cinder's face, she whispered:

"It's all going to work out."

* * *

The office was completely dark, save for the dim grey light from the window and the occasional arc of lightning streaking across the sky. One of these briefly illuminated the room, allowing Lord Ozpin to see his clenched fists on his desk. The wood was still cracked and splinted from striking it. As the room went black again, Lord Ozpin seethed in silent rage. His spectacles sat haphazardly on his nose, reflecting his grey eyes back at him. Thunder cracked across the sky as he gritted his teeth tighter together.

Salem.

After all he had done, after all he had worked for, she was still alive. She had stood in his way for far too long. He had been certain that he had finally disposed of her, but there she was, still breathing. He clenched his fist tighter and tried to calm himself, as he did not want another dent in his expensive desk.

At least her mind seemed to be gone. He had watched P.E.N.N.Y.'s recording over and over again, ensuring what he was seeing was correct, and it seemed that, at the very least, what he had done to her was still working.

Lord Ozpin glanced from his desk and into the shadows of his office. Suddenly he felt a sense of relief… a feeling of disturbing calm. He leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers together.

"No matter," he said to himself. "Her mind is all but destroyed. She cannot do anything to stop me now, much less those worms she gathered." He exhaled deeply. "If it does not kill her first, then my final project will. Either way, Salem will die, slowly and painfully." Knowing he was in complete solitude and did not have to maintain his serious reputation, he chortled softly at the thought.

"Still…" he said quietly. "I must make absolutely sure." His pupils expanded, and soon the entirety of his eyes were blacker than the office he was in. It was time to summon forth the assassin. The Huntsman that would not fail him.

As his eyes returned to their normal state, Lord Ozpin leaned forward. It was almost time to go punish Oobleck and Goodwitch for their creations' failures. He had special plans for them.

"Salem cannot stop me this time." Lord Ozpin muttered. "No one can."

He rose to his feet, gripped his cane, and walked slowly to the door.

Outside, beneath the pouring rain and flashing sky, a black crow sat on a withered tree.

* * *

Adam slowly poured the herbs into the bowl. Then he dipped the hilt of his sword into it and began crudely grinding them to the best of his ability.

"Thank you again for doing that, Adam." Emerald said sweetly.

Adam nodded subtlety. "You're welcome."

Emerald smiled. While they had been out at the remains of their hideout, Adam had gone out of his way to find the herbal medicine for Salem that Emerald had planted so long ago. The plants were not only ready, but had thrived in the rich soil and were soaking up the heavy rain, growing tall and strong. Adam collected large portions of the plants, but left enough in the soil for them to grow back. Now he had taken upon himself to use a small bowl they had found and his own sword to grind the herbs up for Salem.

Roman unzipped a backpack they had recovered, which they used to store what little food they could find. He sighed upon looking inside, but reached down and pulled out a small tin of mole crab meat. He whistled to Mercury, who glanced up just in time to catch the tin as Roman tossed it to him. Mercury silently peeled the lid back and dipped his dirty fingers into it, scraping the oily meat hungrily into his mouth.

Roman then pulled a can of beans out and opened the top. He took a whiff to make sure they were still good, then walked over to Emerald and Adam.

"Here," he said, setting the can down next to Emerald. "Once you're done with that bowl, you guys can split this can."

"Thank you, Roman." Emerald said. Roman just nodded.

Adam pulled his sword back and sheathed it back on his belt. Emerald poured the lukewarm water into the bowl, then carefully took the dish from Adam's hands. Salem was curled up against a wall only a few feet from her, so Emerald scooted over to her, careful not to spill.

"Dinner," she said as calmly as she could.

Salem slowly raised her head, eyeing Emerald quizzically. Emerald knew Salem had no idea who she was.

Roman brought a small tin of fish meat over to Cinder, who was still wrapped in the towel. He held it out in his hand.

"Here," he said.

Cinder shook her head. "I'm not hungry."

"Bullshit," Roman replied, forcing the tin into her hand. "We can hear your stomach growling a mile away."

Cinder glared at him slightly. "We don't have enough."

"Yeah, but the last time you ate was two days ago. I think we'll find more in the next two days you refuse to eat."

Cinder shook her head in disapproval, but gave in. She was too hungry to argue. She slowly pulled the lid back and began scooping meat into her mouth. For what it was worth, it tasted pretty good.

Roman pulled out a candy bar and ripped the wrapper off before taking a large bite and chewing slightly. His legs had gotten better, and now he barely had a limp anymore.

Salem had fussed a bit when Emerald approached her, but now was sitting quietly, slowly sipping from the bowl as Emerald held it to her lips. It was eerily quiet.

"So," Mercury said, breaking the silence. "You say we need to take out Beacon Laboratory. How do you propose we do that?" Despite the fact that he was clearly talking to Cinder, he never took his eyes of his tin of crab meat.

Cinder inhaled slowly, shrugging slightly. "Well we know that, whatever robots they're making there, they're equipped with at least one firebomb charge. If they're planning on sending any more of those things after us, or even if they need to reload P.E.N.N.Y., then that means Beacon Laboratory must be full of firebomb charges." Cinder continued. "We don't need to provide any firepower. The firepower is already there."

Adam sat up. "So you're suggesting we go in and set them all off?"

Cinder nodded. "We've already seen what one can do. Hell, even one would be enough to wipe out any on the production lines. But if we're going to break in to Beacon Laboratory, there are some other things we can do." Cinder set her tin of food aside. "If we can get into Beacon Laboratory, we can steal any supplies they have there. Medicine, food, Dust, metal, clothes. Anything that will help us rebuild."

Roman shrugged. "But how to you suggest we get past Beacon security?" he asked. "After the last stunt we pulled at the CCT tower, they've probably got guards, Huntsmen, and Huntresses crawling all over waiting for us."

"Not unless they're already after us," Cinder said.

Mercury glanced up with a look of worry on his face. "What are you suggesting?"

"We would have to create some kind of a diversion," Cinder said. "Get them to send a bunch of forces to someplace we aren't, but they think we are. It won't get rid of all of the Huntsmen and Huntresses around there, but at the very least it will help thin the heard."

"What are you thinking?" Adam asked.

"No doubt that they know our hideout was destroyed. I'm sure Lord Ozpin himself knows that. But if we can make up some phony information about a backup or secondary base where there isn't one, they're sure to send their forces there and try and get us while we're down."

Mercury scooped the last of his meal into his mouth, then stood up. "I like it," he said.

Everyone was quiet.

Mercury continued. "Cinder, I wanted to apologize. In front of everyone. I've been fighting you more than I've been fighting the enemy. I make it no secret that I don't always agree with you. But your leadership has gotten us this far. As much as it doesn't seem like it sometimes, Cinder, I do respect you, and I do think of you as more than just an ally. I do see you as a friend." He extended his hand. "Will you forgive me?"

Cinder felt like crying. Instead she smiled warmly and quickly shook his hand. "Of course I do, Merc."

Suddenly the moment was interrupted by a loud noise, making everyone jump. Every head turned to face the source. On the ground in the corner was the Scroll they had found earlier. It was ringing.

Roman cocked his head. "Is our Scroll… ringing?"

Adam stood up. "I thought you said it was only for receiving messages."

"It is," Roman replied.

"Then how come it's ringing like a call?"

"If I knew, I would tell you."

Cinder slowly stepped towards the ringing Scroll. She was terrified that P.E.N.N.Y. or someone else had booby-trapped the device. He reached down and picked it up, and with a quick glance to her teammates, accepted the call. She set the Scroll on speaker and held it up to her mouth.

"Hello?" she asked worriedly.

* * *

**END OF VOLUME 1**


	22. Jaunedice

It had all happened so fast.

One moment, he had been walking with his mother and father down the dimly-lit urban streets of Vale, minding their own business. The next, a massive armored tank of a vehicle came rumbling down the streets.

Ten-year-old Jaune turned to face the rumbling that was approaching. He was initially impressed by the vehicle: it was easily a story tall, covered in dark green armor plating, with various Dust-powered guns and turrets. It rolled along on a tank-like metal tread that crushed the stone and asphalt beneath it.

Jaune was just about to turn back to his parents and remark on how cool he thought the vehicle was when he heard his mother gasp loudly.

"Oh my gods!" she said in a panicked tone.

"Quick!" his father said in a raised whisper. "Get him off of the street!"

Jaune felt his mother's arm wrap around his shoulders and begin pulling him towards the buildings on their left side. Jaune had to jog to keep up with her pace.

"Attention civilians!" a booming voice from what sounded like a mechanical megaphone yelled. "Halt immediately! You are to cease your current actions and comply, via Lord Ozpin's command, code 1823225!"

"No!" Jaune heard his father shout. "You're not taking him! Do you hear me? You're not-" The yelling was engulfed by the rumbling of the vehicle. Jaune's father continued to shout, but Jaune could not hear what he was saying over the noise.

Jaune's mother ducked with him into an alley, hurrying him along and panting in fear. Jaune asked her what was going on, but his question was inaudible due to the screeching of brakes behind him. Jaune turned just his head to see the armored vehicle parked in front of the alleyway, and men in white and green uniforms exit. They started to run towards him.

"Mommy, who are they?" Jaune asked, beginning to feel fear and panic himself from these mysterious men chasing after them.

"Halt!" one of the men shouted.

"Run, Jaune!" Jaune's mother swooped behind him and gave him a gentle, but firm push on the back, propelling him forward. Jaune was confused as he stumbled forward, but he obeyed and began to run as soon as he found his footing.

"Hey, kid, stop!" the man shouted again. Jaune heard his mother grunt in pain, but kept running. He did his best to weave through the tight corners, but he was afraid and dizzy. He always heard the sounds of heavy and fast footsteps behind him, but was too afraid to look back. He rounded a corner, but then heard rapid footsteps right behind him, and then felt a pair of large, muscular arms wrap around his chest.

Jaune could not help but scream in fear as the man picked him up off of the ground. Jaune flailed his legs and kicked, squirming to the best of his ability.

"Hold still!" the man barked, his movement unfazed by Jaune's resistance. He carried Jaune down another alleyway, heading back towards the street.  
"Mommy!" Jaune cried out, tears forming in his eyes. "Help me!"

"Jaune!" he heard his mother scream. As the man carried him back out onto the sidewalk, Jaune saw his mother lying on her chest on the ground, several of the men pinning her. She writhed and struggled. When she caught sight of Jaune, her eyes filled with tears. "Jaune!" she bawled.

"Mommy!" Jaune cried back, kicking some more. He reached out to her, but the man grabbed his extended arm and painfully pulled it back.

"No!" his mother screamed. She redirected her attention to her assailants. "You monsters!" she cried in sorrow and rage. "Let him go! Let him go! He's just a child!"

"Silence!" one of the men holding her down snapped. "You are acting in violation of order codes 10141618 and 1823225! Stop resisting!"

"No!" Jaune's mother cried. "He's my son! Do you hear me?! He's my son!" She craned her neck to look back up at Jaune with her sobbing eyes. "Jaune!"

The back of the vehicle opened, and several of the men aimed Dust rifles into it. The man dragged the resisting Jaune over to the opening, and Jaune saw four other children in the back, their eyes red and their faces full of fear. There was a small girl with brown hair covering her eyes, a Faunus girl with orange-brown hair and deer antlers protruding from her forehead, and a heavily muscled teenage boy with blonde hair that looked a great deal older than Jaune or the others. The man threw Jaune into the landed on his face, and felt a stinging pain as he banged his knee on the hard metal floor. He turned to get into a seating position, looking out at the men pointing guns at him. In the distance, he saw his father restrained by armed men.

"No! Jaune!" he heard his mother scream one last time before the man grabbed the metal doors of the vehicle and slammed them closed, leaving Jaune and the others in near darkness as they heard a lock clink. Jaune strained to get up and began pounding on the doors.

"Help!" he screamed. "Mommy!"

He tried to listen for her voice, but all sounds from the outside were silenced by the thick walls. He jumped in shock when he felt the transport roar to life and begin rolling away.

Jaune banged on the doors more and more until his hands hurt. He screamed for his mother and father until his throat burned. Tears streamed down his face and his stomach churned.

"Please!" He attempted one last, desperate cry. But it was more of a wheeze, as he could not find the strength to keep pleading.

"Shut up!" the larger boy said. "Stop with all the noise!"

Jaune curled up and began to sob. He was so afraid and confused, and he felt more and more nauseous by the second.

"Crying won't help you!" the boy scolded. "You don't think we've cried enough already? You need to start toughening up now, because where they're taking us, a crybaby like you won't survive!"

The Faunus girl whimpered softly, and the other girl turned to face the corner and sat in fearful silence. Jaune was hearing what the boy had to say, but was not able to make much out of it. He just felt so afraid; too afraid to do anything but cry. His stomach felt worse than it ever had before.

"Hey!" the boy shouted at Jaune. "Did you hear what I just said? Stop crying!"

Jaune could not take it anymore. He retched once, then threw up on the cold metal floor.

While the girl in the corner barely reacted, the Faunus girl squealed and backed away, and the boy rose to his feet and took a few steps away from the puddle, seething.

"Fuck!" he shouted. "Now look what you've done, Vomit Boy! Now it's going to smell like shit in here for the rest of the trip! Fuck!"

Jaune gagged down the last bit of vomit, then shut his eyes tightly, just hoping to wake up.

* * *

No more kids were picked up for the rest of the two hour trip. The stench in the hold was growing unbearable, and even the big boy found himself gagging. Jaune laid in silence for the whole ordeal, just wishing it would end sooner rather than later.

The vehicle finally came to a stop just as the smell had reached its worst. There were a few moments of silence, then the doors of the vehicle swung open, flooding dim light, cold air, and the sound of crashing waves into the hold. Jaune heard the other children gasp for clean air.

"Ugh," Jaune heard a man say. It was the same man that had taken him. "One of them puked."

"Well, just get him and the others out and onto the Bullhead," an unfamiliar female voice said. "We'll clean it up when they're loaded."

Jaune felt the arms and hands wrap around his chest and abdomen again, and he was quickly heaved out of the vehicle. He was too tired and sick to fight back. As he was brought out, he took the time to breathe in the salty air, and realized they must be at the shore. He looked around to see that they were on some kid of seaside military base, with dim lamps dotted around a landing pad. Jaune heard the older boy putting up a fuss behind him as the man carried him to a Bullhead airship parked on the landing pad. There were other vehicles identical to the one he had just been released from dotted around the landing pad.

Jaune wheezed weakly as the man brought him over to the Bullhead, and then carried him up the ramp into the cargo hold. There, Jaune saw even more children. There were at least a dozen, ranging from around seven years old to late teens. They were either crying or looked as if they had been, and they watched as Jaune was carried in and set on the floor next to a small, orange-haired girl with bright turquoise eyes. She recoiled when he was placed next to her, and did not say a word.

Jaune sat, silently looking at the ground as the other three children were brought in. He did not even bother to look up at them.

"Is that all for tonight?" Jaune heard another man call.

"Yeah, that's it," the man who had taken him replied. "They're ready to go."

"Alright," the other man replied.

"Have a safe trip," the first man said.

"Thanks, you too."

There was a shaking, and Jaune lifted his head just enough to see the rap raising up and closing the opening. There was light in the hold, but not much. The ship began to shake, and then lifted off of the ground. It then began moving forward, propelling over the ocean.

* * *

An hour later, the ship hand landed. The impact of the ship setting down had startled many of the tired children awake, including Jaune, who had to take a moment to remember where he was. In no time at all, the ramp of the Bullhead lowered, and more uniformed soldiers walked on.

"Come on!" one shouted. She stamped her foot, but only a few of the children began to stand up.

She stomped her foot again. "Get up and out of the ship now, or we'll shoot you!" she yelled.

Jaune groggily stood up, his legs weak. He lifted his head to see where he was going, then began walking towards the opening. Even though he was weak and tired, he was not the slowest one there. The smaller or more tired children were being buffaloed and hurried along by the soldiers. One, a teenager who looked more like an adult than a child, stayed seated even when the soldiers approached him. They began barking orders, but Jaune ignored it and kept walking. As Jaune stepped out onto the solid ground, he heard a few quick, loud gunshots behind him.

Jaune scanned his surroundings. They sky was filled with grey clouds overlooking a miserable-looking grey building. It was three stories tall, and looked like a mix between a castle and a prison. Surrounding its front was easily a square mile of rock pits, muddy wooden platforms, a few small buildings, and a single pillory with a small skeleton still confined inside, all surrounded by barbed-wire fence. Behind the massive building was a forest of dark green trees.

The soldiers pushed Jaune and the others forward, into a crowd of children, weeping and screaming. They were all funneled through an opening in one of the fences, led right to the giant building in the center. Jaune could not have thought of a more miserable place if he tried.

Before he knew it, he was inside the cold, grey building in what appeared to be some kind of hall or audience chamber with an elevated stage at the end. Soldiers lined the edges of the room, guns in their hands. They kept the flood of victims from going into the hallways that branched off from the large room.

Jaune looked around, and all he saw were either cold walls or crying kids. Then a loud noise startled him and many of the others, and he looked to see what made it.

There was a small, elderly woman standing on the stage, adjusting a microphone to stop the feedback that had rung out a moment earlier. She had dark skin and slick-ed back grey hair, and wore strange, blue-tinted glasses. She rested on a dark wooden cane with a blue skull decoration on the top.

"Hello all!" she said in a loud, cackling voice. "I am Headmaster Calavera. Many of you, no doubt, are wondering where you are. You are on the island of Patch, off the coast of Vale. Welcome to Signal Academy." She smiled cruelly. "You are here because Lord Ozpin needs the best of the best to serve in his elite. Huntsmen and Huntresses. And we intend to mold you into the best of the best." She tapped her cane. "You may be upset and confused at the moment, but I assure you, everything we've done here, we've done to ensure you are as powerful as you can be! Forget your families. Forget your friends. Release yourselves from the burdens of love and relationships. There is only Lord Ozpin, and whatever forces he deems necessary to ensure safety in Remnant. This is your home now, and we are the authority in your lives." Her smile widened. "Now, shall we begin?"

* * *

Jaune slowly raised his stick to block the incoming attack. His opponent's stick hit him in the face, knocking him back. Jaune raised his stick again, and attacked, hitting his opponent in the side before smacking him in the face. The child held his nose as it began to bleed, and began to cry. A soldier ran in and grabbed him, pulling him quickly away from the sparring platform. While Jaune was happy he won, he felt sorry for how his opponent would be punished for losing.

"Well done, Arc," the headmaster remarked, looking down from her observation platform. She grinned as she tightened her frail fingers around her skull-tipped cane. "Next!" she called.

Jaune stepped down the shaking, rugged stairs of the sparring platform. As soon as his feet hit the ground, they were almost immediately sucked into the cold, wet mud. He strained a bit to pull his boots from the ground, staggering back to the gravel pits as the next two children stepped up.

Jaune staggered over to a mound of rocks, where August Caspian was sitting. He and Jaune had been put in the same living quarters together. August looked up at Jaune with sad eyes.

"How'd it go?" he asked.

"I won," Jaune said solemnly as he sat on a stone next to August. "I think I broke his nose."

"You don't sound too happy about a victory," August said.

Jaune shook his head. "I just know that poor kid's gonna suffer for losing."

August shrugged. "That's how it works in here. Even after two years of training, you still look out for others?"

Jaune lowered his head. "Not as much as I'd like to anymore," he replied. He looked out at the field of children, who were either breaking rocks with pickaxes, sparring on platforms, wrestling in the mud, or sitting alone. It was dangerous for Jaune to even be talking with August.

Then, Jaune saw someone he had never seen before sparring on one of the platforms. She immediately caught his eye, attracting his attention away from everything else. She was throwing a much older teenager off of the platform. When she stood straight after her victory, Jaune felt time seemingly slow to a halt. She was beautiful. He watched as she brushed her long red hair from her face. The soldier watching her fight dismissed her, and she walked off the platform, facing Jaune. She had bright green eyes that Jaune could notice from a distance. She was very tall, though she looked to be around the same age as Jaune.

August noticed Jaune staring and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey," he said. "What is it?"

"That girl," Jaune said, not taking his eyes off the girl as she walked over to the gravel pit and picked up a pickaxe. "Who is she?"

August leaned forward to try and get a better look at who Jaune was staring at. "Who, the blonde?"

"No, no," Jaune said. He pointed towards the girl. "Her,"

August adjusted his gaze. "Oh, her? That's Pyrrha Nikos. Lots of gossip going around about her. They say she's won every brawl so far, and that she can kick the ass of pretty much any fucker in here." He leaned in to Jaune. "Word is that she wasn't taken like the rest of us. Her parents gave her away. Something about ensuring their social status with Lord Ozpin's elite or something like that."

Jaune felt a feeling he had not felt in years. It felt like an actual positive emotion. There was some kind of magnetic pull about this girl, and she seemed to be a single glowing ember in the cold, dark waste.

"She's beautiful," Jaune finally said aloud.

August eyed him, cautiously and disapprovingly. "Careful, Arc. Remember, all we have to give we give to Lord Ozpin. It's dangerous enough that you and I aren't at each other's throats like every other bastard in here."

"Yeah, yeah," Jaune said quickly, both trying to calm August's nerves as well as shut him up. Jaune watched as the girl broke a large stone in half with her pickaxe.

August got up. "I'm going to go practice on some of the younger ones. Stay out of trouble," he warned before marching off.

Jaune sighed as he looked at Pyrrha. What a lovely name. As soon as he noticed August had left, he felt the urge to go talk to her. After all, what was the harm in at least introducing himself? He felt a touch nervous, but finally found the strength to stand up and begin walking over.

* * *

Jaune quickly raised his sword to block the incoming attack. His opponent's mace slammed into the blade, causing Jaune to recoil slightly. He crooked his head to keep the blood that was trickling down from his forehead from getting in his eyes as his opponent, the same boy that had yelled at him for vomiting eight years ago, pressed harder, attempting to break Jaune's defense.

The boy leaned down with his bruised and bloodstained head until he was inches away from Jaune's face.

"This is the part where you loose," he said quiet enough for only Jaune to hear.

Jaune pushed back, throwing the boy off-balance. He then dropped down and swept his legs, causing the boy to fall on his back. Jaune leapt to his feet, and stabbed his blade at the boy, stopping mid-lunge in order not to end his opponent's life. The smallest tip of the blade was embedded in the boy's neck, just deep enough to draw blood. The boy looked up with fearful eyes.

"Please," he mouthed. "Please let me win. You know what they'll do to me if I lose."

Jaune did not care. He pressed the blade closer, causing the boy to flinch in pain.

"Break!" a soldier commanded. Jaune obeyed without hesitation and pulled his blade back, sheathing it. The other boy pressed his palm against his neck to slow the bleeding as a soldier pulled him up and dragged him, looking despaired and afraid, off the platform.

"Dismissed, Arc," Headmaster Calavera mused. Jaune saluted the retired Huntress and marched off of the platform. He stopped to see who was sparring next. He watched as Nora Valkyrie stepped up with a sledgehammer, facing off against some other girl with a short blade and a flimsy shield. Jaune scoffed, then marched off.

He tromped through the mud, now knowing all the places to step to avoid getting stuck. His legs had become muscular and strong from walking on the same treacherous ground for eight years.

"Psst!" a voice ushered him. Jaune turned his head to see a finger beckoning him from behind one of the barracks. He smiled and, after checking to make sure the coast was clear, snuck back.

"I saw that fight against Winchester," Pyrrha Nikos said. "Excellent work."

Jaune shrugged. "I bet you could have done better," he said.

They paused for a moment, then stepped closer to one another. Pyrrha moved her hand towards his, and he gently took it.

"It's almost graduation," Pyrrha said, looking into Jaune's eyes. He had grown significantly taller than her over the years, forcing her to look up to see his face. But she did not mind.

Jaune nodded. "Soon we'll be legitimate Huntsmen and Huntresses," he said. "We'll be able to serve Lord Ozpin in whatever ways he sees fit. It will be going from this mudhole to the highest honors."

Pyrrha nodded back. "But there are dangers. Romance is strictly forbidden between Huntsmen and Huntresses."

Jaune stood firm. "My loyalty lies with Lord Ozpin, but the one thing he will never make me do is stop loving you. We'll work together, and keep our love a secret. And then, once we're done with our duty, we'll leave and live together."

Pyrrha giggled skeptically. "Oh really? And where would we go?"

Jaune paused for a moment, then looked past Pyrrha to the horizon. He turned her around gently and pointed. "Out in the countryside. We'll settle down in a grassy plain, with woods nearby. We'll get married in the forests of Forever Fall. Then we'll have a baby."

Pyrrha was silent as Jaune talked. Even after he finished, she said nothing. He looked down at her, put off by her silence.

"What?" he asked. "Do you not like it?" He then noticed that Pyrrha began to tear up.

"I love it," she said. "It sounds like the most wonderful thing in the world. But it's impossible."

Jaune leaned down so that his face was parallel with hers, and put his hands on her shoulders. "Not if we work together, it's not. We'll do our duty. We'll fight for Lord Ozpin. And then when we're done, I'll take you to the countryside, where we'll live for all our days. I promise."

Pyrrha hugged him. "I'll hold you to that promise."

Jaune hugged her back. "i know you will," he said.

Pyrrha sighed. "Oh Jaune. I can't believe when I first met you, I punched you in the face!"

Jaune laughed a bit. "I had it coming," he said.


	23. Destiny

"Stop struggling, girl!" one of the men said, tugging painfully at Pyrrha's arm.

Ten-year old Pyrrha Nikos pulled again anyway, attempting to wrench free of the man's grip. Tears ran down her face as she looked up to her parents.

They just stood there, unmoving, uncaring. The cold air did not make them shiver. The beautiful colors of the autumn courtyard were meaningless in their eyes.

"Now, Pyrrha, don't resist," her father scolded.

Pyrrha wept. "Mommy! Daddy! Don't let them take me! Don't make me go!" she cried.

Pyrrha's mother scoffed at the uncivilized display her young daughter was performing before their guests. Even if they were Lord Ozpin's soldiers and not Lord Ozpin himself, it was still embarrassing and a mark against their rightfully-earned status.

"Silence, Pyrrha," her mother said. "Go with the nice men. Be a contributing factor of this family's status for once."

The words dug into Pyrrha's heart as they left her mother's mouth. She felt all will to resist drain from her body, and felt her muscles weaken.

"Mommy? Daddy?" she said weakly, hoping her final plea would make them change their minds.

However, they were unfazed, only looking down on her with disappointment.

"Go, girl," her mother scoffed again. "It is your destiny."

Pyrrha fell limp as the man pulled on her arm again. Her feet dragged as he pulled her towards the Bullhead where the other children were. Pyrrha stared at her parents through blurry, tear-filled eyes as they turned around and went back to their drinks.

The man threw Pyrrha down into the Bullhead, and the engines started. Pyrrha cried in silence as the door closed, cutting off her view of her parents. It would be the last time she would ever see them.

* * *

"Bring her to me," the Headmaster said in a cruel, cackling voice. The soldiers watching over the spar grabbed Pyrrha's arms and hoisted her up, carrying her before Headmaster Calavera, who was seated before the arena. They threw her down, and Pyrrha almost hit her head on the Headmaster's cane.

"You are the Nikos girl, are you not?" Headmaster Calavera demanded.

Pyrrha shifted so that she was on her knees, seated on her legs, before the woman. "Y-yes," she replied.

The Headmaster tapped her cane on the ground. "Do you care to explain to me why you refuse to participate in the sparring matches? Why you refuse to fight?"

Her selected opponent, Russel Thrush, chuckled nervously. He had been ordered to spar with her, but she refused to fight back, leading to him punching and kicking her until they stopped him for this.

Pyrrha lowered her head. "I don't want to be here. I don't want to hurt anyone. I want-"

Suddenly, she was cut off. The skull-shaped handle of the Headmaster's cane swung and struck her right on the face. Pyrrha cried out as her face nearly hit the floor. Tears welled in her eyes and she spat out a sizable pool of foul-tasting blood.

"Who gave you permission to want, girl?!" the Headmaster fumed. "You have no wants. You have no desires. You serve, and nothing else!"

Pyrrha leaned her head up to look at the old woman, who scowled down at her with her horrifying blue eyewear.

"You had best learn where your place is now, Nikos," Headmaster Calavera growled at her. "If you do not fight, I assure you, you will die." She looked up to the soldiers. "Take her away."

The two soldiers reached down and picked Pyrrha back up by the arms again, dragging her out of the arena. Thrush grinned at her as they carried her past him.

Pyrrha was thrown down into the cold, grey hallway. The two soldiers made some passing comments, then turned back into the room and slammed the doors behind them.

Pyrrha tried to get up and run back to her room, but she could not find the motivation. She curled up, lightly crying, wishing she could die right then and there.

"You stay there, and they're gonna hit you again," a gruff voice said.

Startled, Pyrrha squirmed up to a sitting position, backing away from the source of the voice. She looked up to see a tall, stubbled man standing there, drinking out of a flask. He wore a gray dress shirt with a long tail, black dress pants and black dress shoes. He took another swig from his flask, then pocketed it.

"W-who are you?" Pyrrha asked nervously.

The man eyed her incisively. His gaze remained on her for a long time, as if he was looking over every inch of her body before replying. "I'm a teacher here," he finally replied.

Pyrrha gasped in fear and stood up, realizing that she would likely be punished for not addressing a teacher formally.

"That's better," the man said, stepping towards her. "You better learn to respect us here. Remember, we own you now."

Pyrrha nodded, tears in her eyes and blood running from her mouth.

The man huffed. "I've watched you. And you have what it takes to be the finest warrior here. If you stop resisting and try going with the flow here, you'll find that you won't get hit as often." He leaned down towards her. Pyrrha could smell the liquor on his breath as he spoke. "If you don't fight, you'll die. That's what your parents sent you here to do, right? Fight or die."

Pyrrha sighed slightly. She did not want to think about her parents.

"Point is, what have you got to loose?" the man said, leaning back up and beginning to turn away. "This whole school wants to kill you. If you don't kill them first, they'll succeed." He paused. "You and your group will be under my instruction soon. I'm going to be teaching you how to fight. The question is, will you be my star pupil…" He turned his head to stare at her for another moment, then continued. "…or just another stain on my floor?" With that, he turned and walked away down the hallway.

Pyrrha waited until he was out of view, then wiped the blood away from her mouth. She hated this place, and she hated everyone there. But he had a point: the only way she was getting out of there was by graduating, and in order to do that, she would have to fight back. While part of her still did not want to hurt anyone, she realized that anyone she had to hurt was a part of this school, and that they deserved it. And if she was going to graduate, why not make it so she was feared? So that no one would try and hurt her again. The tears stopped flowing, and there, quietly, she began to seethe. Flashes of her parents giving her away barraged her mind. She clenched her fist. She felt her heart harden as she spat one last drop of blood. She would graduate, all right. She would survive. She would become the most fearsome fighter in the dammed place. And when she was done, she would treat Remnant with the same kindness it had shown her: none.

* * *

Pyrrha raised her fist and threw down another punch. The fist slammed into Russel Thrush's face, striking him right underneath his left eye. Blood ran down from his mouth and forehead as he recoiled from the impact, and then strained to look back up at Pyrrha.

"Please…" he begged in a raspy voice. "Stop…"

Pyrrha ignored his plea and slammed her fist down on his nose with a crack. Blood spewed out from it as Russel's head hit the concrete, knocking him unconscious.

Pyrrha released Russel's shirt and dropped him, then stood up straight, shaking the blood off of her knuckles. She stepped over Russel's unmoving body to allow the new recruits to drag him away. She clicked her heels together and stood at attention.

Her professor, Qrow Branwen, the same grey man who had turned her this way two years ago, stood in the shadows, watching. He nodded at her, with the slightest grin on his face. But it was not a grin of pride, but one of mischief and was a grin Pyrrha had come to know. He stepped out of the shadows, and addressed the group in the room.

"I think that's all for today," he said coldly. "You are dismissed." The younger children were quick to get up and head for the door, while the older ones who had been there longer stood up slowly. Pyrrha turned to the door as well, and saw the other children doing their best to stay as far from her as possible. Pyrrha felt the slightest bit content, knowing her plan to become feared had worked out.

"Miss Nikos," she heard Professor Branwen speak. She turned, still at attention, to face her teacher. He gestured her towards him. "A word with you in my office, if you please."

"Yes, sir," Pyrrha said obediently. As soon as Professor Branwen began walking towards the door on the other side of the room, Pyrrha marched behind him.

Professor Branwen opened the wooden door and stepped inside his office: a small room, grey and cold like everywhere else in the academy, with a wooden desk and a pair of chairs. Pyrrha took a seat in front of the desk, and Branwen closed the door behind her.  
"First off," he said, walking behind the desk and sitting down. "I'd like to congratulate you on how far you've come. You really have separated yourself from the stains."

"Thank you, sir," Pyrrha replied, sitting straight.

Professor Branwen looked down at his desk. "You're everything a Signal Academy teacher would want in a pupil: brave, obedient, bloodthirsty…" He paused and stared at her again. "Beautiful…"

Pyrrha shifted slightly in her seat. Words of praise were uncommon at Signal, and they felt unnatural to her.

Professor Branwen eyed her again, then stood up and walked behind her.

"You know you're my star pupil, right?" he said slowly.

Pyrrha shivered slightly. The way he spoke made her, as hardened as she was, uncomfortable. "Yes, sir," she replied. She jumped slightly when she felt his rough hands press down on her shoulders.

"Hmm," he hummed in reply. He leaned his head down close to hers. "You took my advice. You became the most feared and powerful student in this academy. And power… is attractive."

"Thank you, sir," Pyrrha said. She cleared her throat as he gripped her shoulders tighter.

"You want to stay this way, right?" Professer Branwen mused sinisterly. "You want to remain in control, right? You want to remain… head of the class?"

Pyrrha began to wince from the pressure he was putting on her shoulders, adjusting her position in a subtle, but failed attempt to throw him off. "Y-yes sir." She surprised herself by stuttering.

"Good," he said slowly. "Then you will do what it takes to… get on my good side?"

Pyrrha transitioned from uncomfortable to afraid. She decided to question him. "What do you mean, sir? I thought you were helping me. I thought you were proud of me."

"Mmm…" Branwen hummed again. "I am, Nikos. I am. I've always been watching you… admiring you… but I didn't mold you into the perfect warrior to not be rewarded for my troubles…" Suddenly, he reached down and placed his hand on her chest, squeezing.

Pyrrha yelped and stood up quickly, forcing him to release her shoulder and chest. Both areas were sore from the pressure, and she began to turn to look at him.

"Professor," she said in a tone that implied confidence, but not enough to get her in trouble. "I-"

Before she could finish, before she could even turn around completely, she felt his strong arms grab hers and pin them to her body. His stubbled face leaned down over her shoulder, reeking of alcohol. Without warning, his tongue lolled out and licked up the young girl's neck.

Pyrrha squealed in fear. "S-stop it!" she cried, squeezing her eyes closed.

"I told you you were beautiful, especially for your age…" the sick pervert mused slyly. "Please fight it. It's better that way."

"Stop!" Pyrrha shouted, her eyes slamming open. She used the strength she had built over the years to wrestle out of his grip, throwing him off. With one swift motion, she whirled around and began running at the door, gripping the handle. However, just as she was getting ready to pull the door open, she felt a tight grip ensnare her wrist. She looked back to see Professor Branwen, smiling smugly, begin to pull her back.

Pyrrha strained to free herself from his grip, turning the door handle in the process. She was able to push open the door, and a few seconds later, free herself from his grip. He swiped at her once more, missing as she bolted out of the office, ran through the training room, and through the door into the hallway. Qrow Branwen smirked. She could not run forever.

Pyrrha sprinted down the hallway, trying her best to keep the tears out of her eyes. All the other children blurred past her as she ran, unsure of where she was headed. She kept running straight, until she burst through a pair of metal double doors to the exterior. She scanned around, seeing children sparring on platforms and breaking rocks in the gravel pits. She wanted to break down and cry, but she had a reputation to keep up now. She had to get her mind off of what had just happened. Taking one second to wipe the tears from her eyes, she ran towards one of the nearby sparring platforms.

The line was shorter than some of the other platforms, so she was able to get up quickly. A soldier waved her up, and Pyrrha quickly ran up the stairs to the top of the platform to meet her opponent: a much larger teenage boy, probably around fifteen or sixteen. He was heavily muscled, with short blond hair and half-shut, squinting dark eyes.

"Well, hello there beautiful," he said quietly. "You gonna wrestle with me?"

Pyrrha, despite all of the sparring and brawling she had done in the past, began to hyperventilate. Why, of anything he could have said, did he have to say that? And now, of all times? She barely heard the soldier begin the match, only saw her opponent begin walking towards her with hands in a clawed position.

One of the claws wrapped into a fist, and swung itself at Pyrrha's face. Pyrrha ducked out of the way out of instinct, and charged into the boy's stomach, burying her head in his abs as she rushed to tackle him. However, he was too big, and he pulled her off of him and punched her in the gut, forcing her back.

Pyrrha grunted from the impact, then she looked up at the boy's face. As she stared, it began to morph into the face of Professor Branwen. Pyrrha's brows dropped, and she gritted her teeth in rage. The one person she believed was looking out for her best interests, who taught her heart to harden, was nothing more but a dusty old pervert who wanted nothing more than her body. She quickly thought about everything he had seen her do over the years; all the compromising positions she had taken during exercises, all the opponents she had dominated, all of the times she sweat and bled… he had watched it all with lust and perversion. She wanted nothing more than to hurt him for it. She wanted his blood.

Pyrrha screamed a war cry and charged at her opponent. He tried to grab her, but Pyrrha evaded his grip and punched him in the face. Her opponent staggered back, but Pyrrha continued striking, punching him over and over again, imagining each blow striking Professor Branwen. She kicked him in the gut, causing him to keel over in pain. Taking advantage of his position, Pyrrha wrapped her arms around him and, gathering her strength, lifted him off the ground and threw him off of the platform and into the mud below. She did not hear him move.

Panting, Pyrrha turned to the soldier overseeing the sparring and stood straight. He waved her off, dismissing her. Pyrrha turned, brushed one of her long, red hairs from her face and walked down the platform. She was still fuming and upset, so she decided to calm down by breaking some rocks. She quickly walked over to the gravel pit, grabbed the nearest available pickaxe, and began chipping at a large stone. She tried to inhale every time she lifted the pick and exhale every time she dropped it, hoping to start a breathing pattern that would soothe her mind. However, images of Professor Branwen, her parents, and Headmaster Calavera would flash in her mind, and she would begin striking the stone faster and with more force until she calmed down again. The rock broke, and she scooted over to begin chipping away at another one.

As she continued to chip away at the stone, she heard footsteps crunching the gravel and pebbles approaching her. At first, she was afraid that it was Professor Branwen, but they were too light to be his; they sounded more like the footsteps of someone about her size.

Casually, Pyrrha glanced up to see a handsome boy with blonde hair walking towards her. He looked about her age, although he was a bit shorter. As he stepped closer, she realized that his focus was on her.

"Hey," he said, coming to a stop about a foot and a half from her. He reached up and brushed his hair from his face.

Pyrrha grunted, annoyed. "What do you want?" she asked.

The boy cleared his throat and continued. "My name's Jaune. Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it."

Pyrrha scoffed in disbelief. He was just another pervert. She glared at him sourly. "Do they?" she asked sarcastically and bitterly.

The boy adjusted his footing, clearly taken somewhat aback by her statement. "Well, I mean…" He paused as if trying to come up with an answer, but decided to change the subject. "You're Pyrrha, right?"

Pyrrha looked down at the rock she had been mining. "What's left of her," she said coldly.

Jaune cleared his throat again. "Well, I saw you sparring, and I'm really impressed. You really kicked that guy's butt." Pyrrha scoffed quietly. It was not often to hear someone use juvenile language like "butt" instead of vulgarity like "ass". Was he trying to be civil around her?

Jaune smiled slightly. "I'll bet you're a star pupil," he said.

Pyrrha's eyes widened and she dropped her pick. Thoughts and emotions ran through her head as she heard the words, and time seemed to slow as she swung her head to glare at the boy, all while her fist tightened and she pulled her arm back. Time then sped up as she threw the punch directly into the side of Jaune's face, striking him right on the cheekbone. The blow was so powerful, Jaune was slammed down onto the ground, collapsing painfully into the gravel.

The other children looked up at the occurrence, intrigued but unsurprised by the violence.

Jaune gingerly cupped his cheek, hissing slightly from the sting. "Ow…" he whimpered.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?!" Pyrrha shouted. "Fuck you! You're just another godsdamn pervert who just wants my body, just like every other bastard in here!" She stomped her feet. "Leave me alone!" Panting, Pyrrha looked up to see eyes from all around the pit staring at her. She glanced back down at Jaune, who looked hurt. Not so much physically, but emotionally. He looked at her with an expression she was unfamiliar with. It almost looked apologetic. Pyrrha turned and ran, sprinting back towards the building. She did not stop running until she made it to her room.

* * *

Pyrrha lay in her ratty cot, thinking about the boy from the other day. She could not stop thinking about his expression, as if it carried genuine concern for her. Pyrrha kept attempting to shake it from her mind, continually telling herself that he was just a pervert like everyone else. However, as much as she tried to convince herself, she could not seem to hate the boy as much as she did everyone else.

There was a loud snore. Pyrrha sighed. Her roommate, a sickly spider Faunus girl named Trifa, had a bad habit of snoring that had kept her awake most of the night. Pyrrha assumed she could smother the girl in her sleep with a pillow, which would work if they had been given pillows.

Trifa snored again, and Pyrrha decided there would be no sleep tonight. Children were not allowed to wander the halls after dark under penalty of being locked in the pillory, so Pyrrha simply got up out of her cot and walked over to the center of the room. Quietly, she began practicing her punches and kicks, pretending that there was an opponent in the thin air in front of her.

Suddenly, Pyrrha was startled by a shuffling outside of the door. Her heart stopped, as she figured Professor Branwen was outside, waiting to barge in and have his way with her. She froze in fearful anticipation, waiting for the intrusion.

Instead, there was a soft knock on the door. It was just loud enough so that Pyrrha could hear it, but quiet enough not to wake Trifa. Pyrrha was still afraid that someone unsavory was on the other side, but her curiosity had quickly gotten to her. Slowly and carefully, she tiptoed towards the door, careful not to make any noise. She reached out and grabbed the handle. The doors were kept unlocked, as if the faculty wanted students to break the rules so that Headmaster Calavera would have an excuse to kill more children. Cautious not to make even the slightest noise, Pyrrha slowly opened the door.

"Hey there," a familiar voice said.

Pyrrha gasped in shock. In the doorway stood the boy, Jaune Arc, from the other day. He waved slightly.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Pyrrha said in a hushed yell. "You'll be locked up for being out after dark!"

"I wanted to see you again," Jaune whispered back.

"Why?" Pyrrha demanded.

Jaune shrugged. "Well, you seemed really upset the other day, and I just couldn't help but think you might need someone. You know, just to talk to or something."

Pyrrha was bewildered. This fool really had the nerve to not only sneak out at night to find her, but wanted to talk to her? What was he thinking?

"What makes you think I need anyone?" Pyrrha growled. "Why are you acting this way? You just trying to get into my pants?"

Jaune looked at her with a confused and hurt expression. "I'm twelve," he said. "Why are you even thinking like that? You look to be around my age."

"Because that's what everyone else wants!" Pyrrha said, getting slightly louder.

Jaune stared, still looking confused for a moment, before softening his expression. "I'm not going to lie to you, Pyrrha," he said in a tone that was so soft and kind that it caught Pyrrha off-guard. "I approached you the other day because I thought you were pretty. I came back tonight because I'm concerned. Despite what anyone might have told you, not everyone here wants to hurt you."

Pyrrha opened her mouth to say something, but remained silent. She thought about it for a moment. The man who had convinced her of that was the one who had lied to her for two years. Even if he was not entirely lying, he may not have been entirely truthful either.

Jaune looked down at his shoes. "I'm sorry for bothering you. If you don't want to deal with anyone else, I'll leave you alone. I apologize." He began to turn to leave.

"Wait!" Pyrrha said somewhat loudly. She cupped her hand over her mouth when she realized her volume. She quickly checked to see if she had woken Trifa, but the girl was still asleep. She looked back to Jaune, who was also checking the hall to make sure no one was headed down towards them.

Pyrrha sighed, then motioned to Jaune. "Come in here. Quick, before somebody sees you." Jaune obeyed, and Pyrrha shut the door quietly. After she was done, she turned to face Jaune and crossed her arms.

"Why would you come to talk to me?" she asked, still in a hushed yell. "I punched you in the face."

Jaune rubbed his cheek. "Yeah," he said. "Still hurts."

"Then why did you come back?" Pyrrha demanded.

Jaune shrugged again. "Well, I guess because you punched me in the face," he replied.

Pyrrha lowered her arms. "Huh?" she asked. Was he coming to fight her for hitting him? His previous statements did not seem to support that.

Jaune cleared his throat. "Even before you punched me, I knew something was wrong. You punching me was when I knew that, whatever it was, it was bad enough that I wanted to help you with it."

Pyrrha huffed. "And why would you want to do that?"

"Why?" Jaune asked. "Is it wrong to help someone you think is hurting?"

Pyrrha kicked her feet. "In here it is," she said solemnly.

Jaune nodded. "I can't argue with that. But I've been without any positive emotion for so long… I've beaten up kids much smaller than me, and I've watched dozens die and hundreds more be punished. And after a while, it stopped bothering me. But I figured… if I could maybe do one nice thing for someone, even if it was just as simple as hearing what they have to say to me, maybe…"

"Maybe what?" Pyrrha said, raising an eyebrow.

"…maybe I'd get some of my humanity back."

Pyrrha stared at Jaune, not really sure what to think. She was still bewildered, but was not nearly as angry as she had been earlier.

"Do you want to feel human again too, Pyrrha?" Jaune asked.

Pyrrha felt her heart skip a beat when he asked the question. She felt sick to her stomach, and her skin grow frigid. She had built up a reputation the past few years of being cold, and now that she felt some warmth, her body was rejecting it.

Pyrrha let out a long sigh and dropped her arms. "Yes," she said meekly. She felt a tear run down her cheek.

Jaune stepped a little closer. "Well," Jaune said, "then let me help you. What's wrong?"

Pyrrha looked up at him. "It's a long story, and very unpleasant," she warned.

Jaune scoffed affably. "I know unpleasant," he said.

Pyrrha nodded slowly. "If I tell you all of this, will… will you tell me your story?"

Jaune looked surprised, but nodded. "Sure," he replied. "If you want to, we'll help each other for the rest of the time we're here. We'll be there for each other."

Pyrrha paused, then walked over to her cot and sat down on it. Jaune followed, and sat down next to her. Pyrrha checked Trifa one last time, then sighed and began to talk.

"Jaune," she began, saying his name for the first time, "do you believe in destiny?"


	24. Thunderstruck

Nora Valkyrie skipped over to the duty board, her heavy boots clicking on the cold tile as she trotted over. Each click echoed through the fortress, causing a few of the other Huntsmen and Huntresses to shoot glances in her direction.

Nora felt their judgmental glares, but payed them no heed. What was so wrong about having a chipper attitude, or a sense of pride and joy in one's work? Granted, Signal Academy had done its absolute best to beat all joy out of her, but it had taught her that there was no better feeling than defeating an opponent, and now her whole job centered around killing and maiming people in Lord Ozpin's service. Nora figured that if everyone else wanted to be serious as sin, she'd let them, but she would make the best of her life. And make the best of it she did.

Stopping mere inches from the giant screen, Nora scanned the list of duties. There were the typical tasks: Grimm clearing, guard duty, tax collecting, child collecting (Nora actively disliked that one), etcetera. But Nora wanted a challenge this time. She scrolled down to where the hits and assassinations were usually listed and began perusing the targets. There was some dark-haired young woman, some pretty blonde, a wrinkled old man… but none of them looked especially interesting. She saw the name and mugshot of Lisa Lavender, the news anchor who had spoken out against Lord Ozpin, and thought about going after her, but then saw a more intriguing name below.

"Arthur Watts," she read aloud. Wasn't that one of the communications technicians that used to work in Beacon Laboratory? She tapped the picture of the mustached gentleman and pulled up the mission information. She smirked a bit when she saw that the mission was labeled as a Level 3 difficulty.

"Arthur Watts," she read out loud. "Wanted dead or alive: Former Chief of Communication Operations of Beacon Laboratory. Wanted for: Treason. Arthur Watts has been found guilty of conspiring with the Resistance and escaping Beacon custody. Best known location is in southwest Vale. Subject to be considered armed and extremely dangerous."

"Shh!" one of the other Huntsmen hissed across the room.

Nora made a face at him. "Get fucked, Coal!" she shouted at him. She shook her head sourly and looked back at the duty board.

Armed and extremely dangerous, huh? Sounded fun. It was always nice to introduce traitors to her hammer. She scanned the rest of the mission information.

"Level 3 mission. Requirements: minimum two Huntsmen/Huntresses required. Slots filled: 1/2."

Nora raised an eyebrow. So this mission required her to partner up with someone, and someone had already filled one of the slots. She shrugged. Oh well. Maybe she'd meet someone nice for a change.

Nora reached down her skirt, fumbled around briefly, and then pulled her Scroll out of her undergarments. That was the price of wearing a skirt: no pockets. She opened up the device, which defaulted to her Huntress license. She quickly scanned the Scroll to the duty board. The screens processed the action for a few seconds, then confirmed that she had registered for the duty. As Nora returned the Scroll, she saw the duty board name her partner.

"Lie Ren," she read. Then she shrugged. "Never heard of him." She turned on her heel and skipped merrily away.

* * *

Nora skipped her way to the Bullhead, ready to board. The pilot would take them as far as the ruins of Mountain Glenn, then the rest was up to them. Nora held her beloved hammer behind her neck, gripping it in her fists to keep it steady. The pilot, a tall man in a military uniform and a white helmet with a black visor covering his eyes, saw her and waved her over.

"Mornin', Miss Valkyrie," he said in a chipper tone, which was unusual for someone working under Lord Ozpin's service. "You here for the Watts mission?"

"Yep!" Nora said. Finally, someone who had a smile on his face. "Is my partner here yet?"

The pilot nodded. "He showed up about an hour ago. He's sittin' in the ship, ready to go whenever you are."

Nora raised an eyebrow. He showed up an hour early? And he just sat there? Who was this Lie Ren?

"Well, I'm here, so I'm ready!" Nora said, giving the pilot a thumbs-up. The pilot returned the gesture and hurried over to the cockpit.

Nora walked quickly into the Bullhead. It was a little dark inside, forcing her to squint to see. Then she saw him.

Sitting in the corner of the hold, sitting cross-legged and shrouded in shadows, was a man. He was very tall and toned, with long, flowing black hair, fair skin, and cloaked in robes of black and forest green. He wore black, fingerless gloves and black sandals, as well as a green cloth covering his face from his nose to his chin. His eyes were closed and his back was straight, his gloved hands resting on his knees, as if he was meditating.

Nora's jaw fell open as she sharply inhaled. She felt her knees tremble slightly and her Scroll shift. He was the most handsome beast Nora had ever laid eyes on.

Nora hopped over and practically jumped to sit next to him, landing with an audible thudding that was amplified by the head of her hammer striking the metal ground. The Bullhead began to rumble, and Nora felt it begin to raise from the ground.

"Well hey there," Nora said loudly. "How you doin'?"

The man slowly opened his eyes. They were deep magenta, and they might as well have been the sexiest eyes Nora had ever seen. They slowly shifted over to look at her.

"Nora Valkyrie, I presume?" he said in a deep, gruff voice.

Nora did not know if she was shaking from excitement, or if it was just the ship taking off. She grinned and pointed to herself. "That's me!" she said enthusiastically. "And you must be Lie Ren!"

The man huffed in what seemed like annoyance, but Nora did not notice it. He looked away from her and nodded ever so slightly.

Nora scooted closer. "So…" she said in her best sultry voice, "we gonna kill that prick Watts or what?"

Ren grumbled slightly, but responded. "If we can bring him back alive, he may continue to be of use to Lord Ozpin," he said slowly. "But, if needed, we will eliminate him."

"Ooh! We'll break his legs!" Nora suggested. When Ren did not seem to respond, she decided to shift the subject. "Have you seen my hammer?" She began speaking quickly. "I love my hammer. My hammer is so good. I can crush almost any bone in someone's body with it. It's so fun. Why, just last week I knocked some Grimm so fucking senseless that they had to limp away and go die. Like, they actually left the battle to lay down and die they were in so much pain. Can you believe that? It was like, Ursai, dozens of them! And I don't like to brag, but-"

As Nora continued to ramble, she did not know the rage that was building in her teammate. He did his best to regulate his breathing. He served Lord Ozpin, and nothing mattered other than serving his Lord. If this is what he would have to deal with, at least for now, he'd tolerate it. Still, he was thinking of all the… accidents… that could happen on a mission like this.

* * *

Mountain Glenn was intended to be an expansion of Vale, and was almost completely finished when Lord Ozpin came into power. However, because it was primarily a haven for families, it was the first city that Lord Ozpin began having children taken from in order to build his special forces. The amount of children taken had been so great that the amount of grief and trauma from the families was staggering, attracting Grimm from miles around. When the invasion began, Lord Ozpin allowed the city to fall, seeing it as no more than a necessary sacrifice. Those that managed to escape made it to Vale, where a year later, Lord Ozpin displayed his might in the great bombing.

The Bullhead settled down on one of the ruined streets, where it allowed its passengers to exit.

"Just contact me with your Scroll when you're ready for pickup," the pilot called to Nora and Ren. "Unless you say otherwise, I'll be coming back to this point." He gave another thumbs-up that Nora mirrored back, then he took off and flew away through the grey skies.

Nora cradled her hammer as Ren pulled a pistol with an attached blade out from a holster. His sharp eyes began scanning the environment.

"So where do you wanna look, partner?" Nora said giddily.

Ren rolled his eyes and listened. It was silent, aside from the wind. Occasionally, the cold breeze would create a whistling through one of the cracked windows or hollow doorframes. He began to walk, and was annoyed that Nora followed so close that she was practically breathing down his neck.

Nora was thrilled. She was on a super exciting mission with the sexiest guy she'd even met. He was so mysterious and stoic, traits that made Nora wet with arousal. She may have come on a little strong, but once he saw her fuck the Watts guy up, he'd see just how strong and sexy she was. It was then Nora realized that finding Watts had become her secondary objective, as making Ren fall for her was now the main priority that buzzed in her mind.

Ren stopped when he heard a new noise, almost making Nora crash into him. The two looked up to see a pair of black Beowolves, snarling and huffing, emerge from between two of the decrepit buildings. They walked out a few feet before one of them stopped and turned its canine head towards them, glaring at them with glowing red eyes. It growled louder, and the other Grimm turned to look as well. The second one immediately roared and charged, with the other one following close behind.

Ren pulled out a second bladed gun as the Beowolf leapt into the air, spreading its limbs wide and angling its claws towards him. Ren began firing into the beast's exposed underside, causing the Grimm to yelp in pain as it crashed towards him. Ren acrobatically rolled out of the way, allowing the Beowolf to clumsily land on the asphalt, still swiping at him.

Nora whirled backwards to dodge the other Beowolf's swiping claws. She retaliated with her hammer, hitting its ashen paws away from her and landing a satisfying blow to its head. The Beowolf snapped its jaws at her, but Nora held out her hammer, allowing it to bite down on the handle instead of her head. However, when she tried to free the hammer from the Grimm's jaws, it held on and began trying to wrestle the weapon from her grim. Nora held on for dear life as the Beowolf flailed about.

Ren's Beowolf swiped again, but Ren dodged the swipe and leapt over to the monster's side. With a swift motion, he stabbed the blade of one of his weapons into the Grimm's eye. The Beowolf howled and reared up, and Ren used the momentum to propel himself onto the creature's back. He dug one of his weapons into the Beowolf's neck to anchor himself, then aimed down with the other weapon and began firing at the Beowolf's head. The Grimm flailed and reached at him, but Ren kicked its claws away. The Beowolf then looked up and roared, and Ren took the opportunity to aim down the Grimm's gaping maw and fire several well-timed shots down inside of it. The Beowolf choked and screeched, recoiling from the shots, then made a final choking sound before collapsing dead onto the ground. Ren rolled off the Grimm and reloaded his guns.

The other Grimm finally released Nora's hammer, sending her flying into the side of a small building. She felt the impact on her back and gritted her teeth in pain for a moment before dropping to her feet. The Beowolf charged, snarling, and Nora lifted her hammer and readied it. As soon as the monster was in range, she swung from the side, pummeling the Grimm directly on its lower jaw. There was a loud crack as the jaw dislodged and the plating splintered, and the Beowolf slid dead to the ground, sending bits of stone and dirt flying as it skidded against the decrepit road.

Nora panted and stretched her sore arm, but then stood straight and grinned wildly at Ren. He looked at her briefly before turning away.

"Oh yeah," Nora whispered to herself. "He's impressed."

Ren, meanwhile, had already dismissed the Grimm attack and was scanning for any sign he could of human activity. Usually, his tracking skills were so acute that he could tell where a person had walked just by the way the rubble was arranged, but the cracked road and dusty buildings looked exactly as they should: abandoned. Ren thought for a moment, then got an idea.

"Valkyrie," he said in his deep voice. Upon hearing her crush mutter her name, Nora bolted like lightning to his side, almost running into him.

"Yes, Senpai?" she said in her cutest possible voice.

Ren groaned. What the fuck had she just called him? Ren seriously considered slitting her throat right then and there, but would probably have to answer to Lord Ozpin for killing a licensed Huntress on a mission. He was angry, but he was not stupid; besides, he needed her for now.

"Do you have your Scroll?" he growled.

Nora beamed and reached into her undergarments, pulling out the (slightly damp) Scroll. "Yep!" he exclaimed.

"Give it here," Ren ordered.

Nora obeyed, and Ren took it quickly. He pulled his own Scroll out of a fold in his robe and switched them both on, then clicked them together.

"He's connecting our Scrolls!" Nora thought. However, she decided to ask the meaning behind the action.

"What'cha doin?" she asked, leaning over Ren's shoulder.

Ren decided that, just this once, he would indulge her. "Watts was the Chief of Communication Operations, and was conspiring with the Resistance by sending them illegal transmissions. If his purpose was to send messages to the Resistance, there's little chance that he's stopped. So if we do a scan of any electrical or Dust energy outputs in the area, we might be able to pick up a potential location. However, one Scroll is not enough for a full scan, so I am using both to give a wider search."

Nora swooned slightly. "So you're clever too, huh? Hold my hammer, I think I'm gonna faint."

Ren grumbled as the two screens showed a radar-like display. A pale white line spun around in a circle, scanning the area. Nora was squirming with excitement as Ren stared at the screens. Then a sharp ping rang from Nora's scroll, startling her. A small, red dot appeared on the radar.

"Dust energy output," Ren said. "And it's not from our weapons. It's about five blocks down." Ren disconnected the two Scrolls and tossed Nora's back to her, which she caught clumsily. Ren pulled his weapons back out and began running towards the location. Nora pressed her Scroll against her face, thrilled that Ren had touched it, then shoved it back down her skirt before picking up her hammer and skipping after him.

The run was a short one for the fit Huntsman and Huntress, and the only adversity they faced was a single Ravager that came screeching out of a hollow building. Nora smashed it to a pulp with her hammer in a single swing, and did not even have to stop running. Nora watched Ren's every step lustfully, then skidded to a halt when she saw him slow to a stop.

They were now deeper into the city, at an intersection of road. A half-built building loomed over them, each of its many floors vacant.

"Here?" Nora questioned.

Ren's eyes scanned the area. This is where the Scrolls had led them, but it looked the same as everywhere else. Quiet, dirty, abandoned, empty. There was not as much as a sign of Grimm anywhere. It was clear Watts was not hiding in any of the buildings.

Nora shrugged. "Maybe we need to scan agin," she suggested. She took a step towards Ren, reaching for his Scroll, when suddenly she felt her weight shift and heard a loud cracking sound. Nora yelped as the ground beneath her gave way, sending her plummeting down.

Ren turned around out of pure shock, and watched as Nora tumbled down a massive hole in the street. Her hammer flew up into the air, then came plummeting down after her.

Nora fell roughly fifteen feet straight down. She landed on her rear, grunting loudly from the stinging impact. Just as she was about to reach down and rub her injured behind, she remembered her hammer and quickly rolled out of the way just before the giant weapon landed. Nora breathed a sigh of relief that she was not crushed, then slowly stood up, grabbing her hammer's handle in one hand, and rubbing her posterior with the other.

Ren waited, and was disappointed when he heard her moving around down in the hole. He leaned over and peered down.

"Valkyrie?" he called.

"I'm fine!" Nora replied, hissing slightly from the stinging. She glanced up. "Ren? You might want to see this," she called.

Ren raised an eyebrow, but carefully jumped down into the hole. He rolled as he landed in order to not injure himself. As he stood up, he saw Nora holding up her Scroll. The light from the device illuminated a claustrophobic concrete tunnel ahead of and behind them.

"I thought these tunnels were sealed off when Grimm invaded," Nora said.

"They were," Ren replied. "But not filled in. If Watts found a hole down here like you did, there's a good chance he's down here." He raised his guns. "Keep your Scroll on for light, and stick close."

Nora squeed in excitement. It took restraint for her to not hug him then, but she instead hurried to his side, less than an inch away. As Ren began walking with his guns forward, Nora stuck by his side, holding the Scroll for light.

As they walked, Nora fantasized. She imagined herself in regal robes, living in an extravagant palace. Queen of the castle. She imagined Ren, her knight in shining armor, sharing her reign with her.

"Look, Ren…" Nora said. "I know I have a tendency to babble, but I do think that we can crush our enemies, bring them to their knees. What would you think about a permanent partnership? We'd work well together. Well, not, like, 'together-together', but…"

Ren had just about enough. He began to raise his weapon to slit Nora's throat when he heard a sound. Nora stopped yammering as they both stopped and looked ahead.

There was a fork in the tunnel in front of them, branching off into two separate tunnels. A metallic clang echoed through them, though it was impossible to determine which one the sound came from.

"More Grimm?" Nora asked.

"No," Ren said, subtly lowering his weapon (which Nora did not even notice). "It was metallic. Someone else is down here."

Ren glanced between the two branching tunnels, waiting for the sound to come again, but the darkness was silent aside from Nora's breathing.

"We'll have to split up," Ren said. "Cover both tunnels."

Nora put on her best pouty face. "You're gonna leave me?"

Ren pulled out his Scroll and turned it on, giving himself his own light source. "I'll take the left. You take the right," he said, completely ignoring Nora's question.

Nora tried to keep the connection. "I know! We'll have some sort of signal! Like a distress signal! A secret signal so we can find each other! Can you imitate a sloth?"

Ren grumbled and shot a glare at her.

"I don't think sloths make a lot of noise," he snapped before turning away and jogging down the left tunnel. Nora was a bit upset that Ren had separated from her, but his hostility was completely lost on her. She just shrugged and hurried down the right tunnel.

Ren was glad for the quiet for a while.

* * *

Nora skipped down the dark, dirty tunnel, humming to herself and imagining how happy she would be when she and Ren were reunited. She had to remind herself that she had just met the guy earlier that day, and that she should slow down and try to show some restraint. Despite her occasional logic, she could not help herself. Every time she thought about him, she could not help her heart from racing, her mind going fast and her knees start shaking. Her stomach did flips. Throughout all of it, she never questioned if he felt the same. She just assumed he did. He had to. She had impressed him, had she not? She was a strong girl. Who else could he possibly fall for? That Nikos bitch? Nora would hammer her head in if she tried to steal her man. That's what Ren was. Hers. All hers.

A faint shuffling then caught her attention. She skidded to a stop, thinking that Ren was behind her, but as soon as she turned, she saw no one. The shuffling happened again, and she knew it was not her. She readied her weapon and slowly walked forward, expecting a Creep or Centinal to burst out of the wall. She shifted her light to look at the ceiling, and that's when she noticed the faintest glimmer of light from a few feet to her left, on the ground.

* * *

Ren kept running, minding his footfalls so they would not make much noise. He felt like screaming. Putting up with that ditzy moron was infuriating. He had to admit she could hold her own in a fight, but her clingy nature and clear infatuation with him wanted to make him feed her to Grimm. Did she not know that romance was forbidden? She would be lucky if Lord Ozpin had the restraint to not have her beheaded. While Ren was not one for imagining things (imagination was pointless, and anything not directly supporting Lord Ozpin he considered a waste of time), but he did take a moment to imagine Nora Valkyrie's head being removed by Qrow Branwen's sword, then thrown to Beowolves. It was a comforting thought.

Suddenly, Ren noticed a light up ahead. He slowed to a tiptoe and noticed the light coming from a large, jagged hole in the side of the tunnel. He snuck over to the hole and cautiously peered into it.

About ten feet below him, in a hollowed-out cave, was a Dust-powered flood lamp. It illuminated the cave, revealing a surprisingly large terminal of computers and screens on a long black desk. All of it was wired to a Dust generator. In front of the terminal, typing on one of the keyboards, was a man. He was very tall with grey hair and an impressive mustache, wearing a grey overcoat and pants, dress shoes, and cordovan fingerless gloves. With one hand he was typing, with the other he was talking on a Scroll.

"Yes, Carmine, I guarantee this call is secure," he was saying in a posh tone. "I was Chief of Communication. I know how to hide a call."

There was no doubt. This was Arthur Watts.

"Listen to me now and listen to me closely," Watts was saying to the person on the other end. "It's only a matter of time before I have Huntsmen and Huntresses on my tail. I may not survive. You and Bertilak have to get that code to him so he can share it with the Resistance. It may take a while, but the Resistance has to have it."

Ren was not going to risk any more time, even if Watts was divulging information. He jumped down and landed on the floor of the cave, pointing his guns at Watts.

Watts stopped typing. Without even looking at Ren, he muttered into the Scroll.

"They're here," he said. Then he hung up. He turned his head and looked at Ren with a hardened gaze.

"Don't move," Ren demanded. "Arthur Watts, you are under arrest for high treason."

"Treason?" Watts asked. "Is it treason to want justice? Freedom? Life?"

"Your life, as with all lives, are property of Lord Ozpin," Ren said harshly.

Watts sighed. "They really do a number on you in those academies, don't they?" Then he dropped his Scroll to the ground and promptly stepped on it, crushing it under his shoe and grinding it onto the stone. All of the computer screens flashed white before going black.

"Everything here, everything you could have used against the Resistance, was tied to that Scroll. Now you have none of it," Watts said, turning the rest of his body to face Ren.

"Inconsequential," Ren assured. "No matter what you've given them, it will not be enough to stop our god."

Watts raised an eyebrow as his mustache twitched. "A god? You think Lord Ozpin is a god? Let me tell you something, boy. Your god… is false."

Ren opened fire. Watts dove out of the way, allowing the ammunition to be wasted on the rock wall behind him. From a fold in his overcoat, he pulled out a revolver and fired at Ren, who managed to jump behind a rock just before Watts fired. Watts hurried over to the generator and took cover behind it.

"At the risk of sounding cliché, boy… I won't be going down without a fight," Watts said.

Then both men heard a cracking sound. Watts looked above him to see the stone ceiling cracking and chipping. He jumped to his feet and sprinted out of the way before the ceiling collapsed, dropping a massive pile of rubble and rock onto the generator, crushing it. Nora rode the rock all the way down, her hammer pointed downwards.

Nora smirked when she saw Ren peek out. She rolled her tongue and attempted to make some kind of animal call.

"That's still not what a sloth sounds like!" Ren shouted angrily.

Nora just smiled. "I saw light and heard noise, so I broke my way through!" she beamed. She looked up and saw Watts. "Hey, it's you!" she said.

Just then, the ruined generator sparked and spat before dying, and the flood light went out. Now in darkness, Ren heard Watt's footsteps as he tried to run.

Ren reached into his robe and pulled out a vial of Fire Dust. He saved it as backup ammunition, but now threw it towards the direction he had come from. The vial shattered and a fire roared to life right in front of Watts, who was forced to stop. The flames illuminated the cave, allowing the fighters to see each other.

Ren raised his gun, but Watts fired first. Ren dropped to the ground, allowing the bullet to pass over him. Watts began to sprint back in the direction he came from, but Nora hopped off of the pile of rubble and swung at him. Watts barely dodged the swing, then pointed his gun at Nora. Nora quickly raised her hammer in front of her just in time for the fired bullet to ricochet off the head of the weapon and into the wall.

Ren got back on his feet and stepped up on top of the rock he was hiding behind. Watts fired a shot, but missed. He shoved Nora into the cave wall and began to climb the rubble, attempting to get up into the hole Nora made. Ren fired at him, and one of the shots clipped his overcoat. Watts dropped and rolled over back towards the desk, picking up a vial of Gravity Dust off of it. He threw it at Ren and hit him in the face, causing the Huntsman to wince. Ren looked back at Watts, then felt his legs leaving the ground as he began to float upwards. He tried aiming at him, but the momentum from lifting his arm spun him so he was facing upwards.

Watts grinned slightly, but dropped it when he saw Nora charging with her hammer. He dove out of the way as Nora brought her weapon down on the computers, smashing them to pieces. She quickly adjusted her position and swung again, but Watts managed to dodge. He fired at Nora, who jerked her head back to avoid the shot. She then took a step forward and swung her hammer up from below, striking Watts in the gut. He grunted loudly as he was sent flying into Ren, bringing them both down to the ground.

Watts threw Ren off of him and aimed back at Nora, but Ren grabbed his wrist and forced it up, causing him to fire at the ceiling. With a sharp twist, Ren snapped Watts' wrist, causing him to yell in pain and drop his revolver. Ren jumped to his feet and slammed his foot down on Watts' chest, pointing his guns down at him.

Nora stood there, amazed. "Did… did you just save me?" Nora asked, her cheeks turning red.

"Absolutely not," Ren said. "I just disarmed the target."

Despite asking the question, Nora did not even listen for an answer. She trembled slightly as she walked over, her heart fluttering. "He saved my life," she whispered to herself.

Ren held his fingers on the triggers of his weapons as Nora positioned her hammer over Watts. Watts, grimacing in pain, looked up at them.

"Fight all you want," he muttered. "In the end, no god will save you."

Ren wanted to pull the trigger then and there, but he thought about what Watts had been saying on the Scroll. He may still have valuable information. Even so, Ren wanted to kill him. So he decided to not leave the decision up to him.

"Valkyrie," he said slowly.

Nora almost jumped with excitement. "Yes, Ren?" she said longingly.

"Lord Ozpin said dead or alive. Which one should it be?"

Nora beamed. She had the feeling that this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. She gently released one of her hands from around her hammer, carefully reached over, and tapped her pointer finger on the tip of Ren's masked nose.

"Boop," she mused, before slamming her hammer down.


	25. The Black Lotus

"Stop! Thief!" the vendor yelled. He jogged a ways after the culprit, but knew he could not catch up to the young one's speed. He pointed at the thief as he ran, and a few other citizens tried to follow. The young thief darted into a dark alley, and the few people on his tail decided it would be best not to pursue. After all, they knew who it was, and no one wanted to deal with him.

The vendor sighed. He really wished he had the guts to go after the little punk, but that boy sacred him. He scared everyone in their little town. They had had bad eggs in Kuroyuri before, but that kid was something else.

The thief gripped his prize tighter in his fist. When he was sure no one was chasing him anymore, he jogged to the end of an alley and sat down cross-legged on the cold stone ground. He looked down at his new acquisition and admired it: an ornate dagger, with a handle made of carved wood and animal bone, and a dark metal blade etched with the image of a lily. It was truly great craftsmanship.

The boy admired the blade until he heard a squeaking. He exhaled slowly before doing his best to silence his breathing, going silent to lull his victim into a false sense of security. He was so focused on the squeaking that he did not even see three other boys about his age walk in front of the ally. The tallest of the three spotted him, and they all stopped to stare.

"Hey," the medium-height boy said. "Isn't that that creepy kid?"

The tallest boy nodded. "Lie Ren. He's old Li Ren's son."

"What's his deal?" the shortest boy asked.

"He's weird," the tallest boy said. "He's as quiet as a mouse, but he's really fucked up. He kills small animals and steals stuff in his spare time. The whole town's afraid of him. He's a freak."

"Let's go before he kills us too," the medium-height boy said. The three of them chuckled nervously as they hurried along.

Ten-year-old Lie Ren scoffed quietly. If he wanted them dead, they already would be. His arm darted out and caught the squeaking rat that had wandered too close, gripping it tightly. The rat squirmed and squealed in his tight grip as Ren carefully set it down on the ground in front of him. He held his new knife over the creature's neck and pressed down, not stopping until the anguished squeals and furious writhing had ended. He admired how clean he had made the cut as blood began to pour out.

It was truly great craftsmanship.

* * *

"How could you?" the man said sternly. His aged face was wrinkled with stress and anger, and his dark beard was furrowed. His gaze cut right into Ren, who simply returned the gaze with a cold stare of his own.

Li Ren, his father, shook his head quietly. "You should be thankful that the poor man is still breathing tonight!" he barked. He gazed with anger and disappointment through the cell bars at his son, who sat on the wooden bench within in handcuffs.

"He… wronged me," Lie Ren said in a monotone, slow voice.

"And that gives you reason to stab him?" Li almost yelled grabbing one of the bars and shaking it slightly. "What wrong did he do that was terrible enough for you to make an attempt on his life? Tell me, Lie, tell me!"

Ren paused for a moment before answering, before stating slowly, "He refused me service."

"He refused you service because you are sixteen, and trying to buy sake!" Li yelled, grabbing another bar with his other fist. Ren showed little emotion. He was aware of his father's rage and his mother's heartbreak, but he did not care.

Li dropped his head and released the bars. "We tried, Lie. Your mother and I. We tried to raise you better." He took a few steps back. "No matter what you stole, no matter what defenseless creature you hurt, we tried to teach you the error of your ways." He looked into his son's eyes. "And every time they called you a freak, every time they called you a menace, your mother and I stood up for you. We tried to protect you. We tried to help you. We tried to love you."

Ren huffed quietly, leaning back against the icy wall of the cell. He could feel the cold through his green and black tailcoat, and could feel splinters in the wooden bench beneath his black pants.

"But no more," Li continued. "You have hurt us one too many times, and worst of all, you have hurt someone else." He glared at Ren with an expression of anger, though his eyes reflected sadness. "You cannot expect our protection or help any more. And most of all, you cannot expect our love. You are not our son."

Ren inhaled slowly, taking in the news. His mind was racing, but he made sure that his face would not reflect any emotion. Even if he had allowed his emotion to come through, it would not have been an emotion that a normal person would feel in this situation.

"You may stay in that cage like the animal you are," Li said, his words trailing off. He quickly turned and began marching towards the door. "May I and my wife never see your face again," he finished before walking out and slamming the metal door behind him, leaving Ren in darkness and cold.

* * *

Every day was the same routine of meals, the prison yard, and meditating in his cell. There were so few criminals in the small village of Kuroyuri that the prison was mostly empty, with the exception of Ren and a few others. Early during his incarceration, a few of the other inmates had tried to pick a fight with him, but he did them the honors of breaking their arms and noses. Ever since then, they mostly just left him alone.

Ren liked the quiet. It gave him time to relax, and think to himself of all the acts of violence he could perform. He did his best to keep his homicidal tendencies at bay, knowing things would be less quiet if he let loose. He did not restrain himself for morality's sake, but rather for his own amusement. When he was not eating, cleaning, sleeping, or meditating, Ren was out in the prison yard in his own shady corner, silently exercising and practicing martial arts. Every once and a while he would find a sharp rock or twig, and incorporate it into his motion as if it were a blade. After all, a sound body aided in a sound mind.

However, after a year of imprisonment, Ren felt himself getting restless. He did his best to suppress his emotions, but he needed stimulation. He needed to kill something. There were rarely rats in his cell, and when there were, there was nothing to kill them with. Another one of the prisoners seemed like they would be fair game, but Ren always saw the watchful eye of the inspectors on him and never found his chance to make his move. After so long of keeping his emotions and desires down, Ren feared that boredom and his sheer thirst for blood would finally break him down into just another raving madman like the others were. He had always aspired to be a better class of criminal than those other wretches, and he felt that if he did not give into his desires soon, all of his hard work would go to waste.

One dark, cold night, Ren was meditating in his cell. His breathing was rapid. He longed to hear the squeak of a rat so he could strangle it with his bare hands, but there was only the sound of crickets from outside. He felt ready to go mad when he heard male voices on the street outside his cell window.

"What is that?" one of them asked.

"What?" the other questioned.

"That," the first man said. Ren assumed he pointed.

"Oh damn," the second man said. "That's Lord Ozpin's ship!"

"Lord Ozpin?" the first man said, obviously shaken. "What is he doing way out here?"

"There's a new order," the second man replied frantically. "He decreed that children ages five to eighteen can be taken away to be sent to an Academy and be recruited into his new elite military force! I heard that he was coming personally to oversee some of them! We need to prepare! Hurry! Go warn someone! He's here!"

Ren dropped from his meditative stance as he heard footsteps run away. He lifted his head to the window and peered through to see a regal golden airship landing on the outskirts of town. Shortly after, the warning bell in one of the towers began to ring. Slowly but surely, Ren heard screaming and commotion as the people of Kuroyuri panicked, desperately trying to hide their children.

It was mere minutes before armed soldiers began marching through the front gates, gripping their weapons tightly. A pair of law enforcers ran up to attack them, but were quickly gunned down. The sound of gunshots echoed through the night, and Ren heard more people scream in response.

"Those idiots," Ren thought. "If they don't calm down and comply, all that fear… all that panic… all that rage… will attract Grimm." Ren did not yet realize how right he was.

Ren watched as tall, green, tank-like vehicles with Dust cannons rolled into Kuroyuri. Armed soldiers disembarked from it and rushed to houses, kicking down the doors. The sound of crickets was soon replaced with the chaotic sounds of crying and gunfire. The soldiers emerged from houses, dragging weeping children out by their arms. Parents would attempt to give chase or pull their children back, but were always pinned or shot in the leg by a soldier. Ren observed the chaos, his body aching that he could not be a part of it.

The soldiers threw the children into the backs of the vehicles, and yelled orders and advice to one another. One of them was near his window, but did not seem to notice him. The soldier looked over to the far edge of town.

"Oh, shit!" he suddenly yelled. He turned around and yelled to his comrades. "Code Black! I repeat, Code Black! We have Grimm incoming!"

"How many?" another soldier yelled.

"Just one, but it's a really big one!" the first soldier exclaimed. The second soldier looked over, then took a step back.

"Fuck! That's a beast!" he yelled. He turned to the other soldiers. "Code Black! Code Black!"

Suddenly, above all the screaming and crying, there was a screech that overpowered them all. Ren was forced to drop from his perch and cup his hands over his ears, wincing as the high-pitched shriek penetrated his brain. The shriek was followed by what sounded like thundering hoofbeats and the sound of soldiers shouting.

"Open fire! Hurry!" a voice shouted.

"Make sure it doesn't get to Lord Ozpin's captures!" another voice screamed.

There was the sound of gunfire from several sources. The hoofbeats continued, and then there was screaming and choking from the soldiers.

"Use that! Now!" a soldier called.

There was a loud explosion that shook the ground under Ren's feet. Ren assumed it was a Fire Dust rocket launcher of some kind. The explosion had to have been nearby, as a faint orange glow seeped in through his window. Ren had to see what was going on. He jumped back to his window and looked out.

Before him, standing in front of a fiery wreckage, was the biggest Grimm he had ever seen: a Nuckelavee. It looked like a skeletal black horse with red fire seeping from its nostrils. Attached to its back was an elongated, humanoid part with a skull-like face, long arms, protruding white horns, and an array of white spikes down its spine. It screeched again, revealing a red mouth of sharp black teeth. The soldiers fired at it from all sides and it shrieked in pain, but grabbed at them with its elongated arms and crushed them, audibly snapping their spines. Every house and structure the soldiers attempted to duck behind was caught in the Nuckelavee's swing, which easily smashed through the walls. Ren watched as the Grimm smashed through homes, including his old one. Its horse-like half trampled people under its hooves, both soldier and citizen, cracking their bones and leaving bloody stains. It lunged at one of the vehicles, clawing at it. It rammed the tank with its body, sending it skidding across the ground. Ren heard the children inside scream as the vehicle was flipped upside-down, detonating the Dust cannon on top. There was a massive explosion, and the screaming was silenced.

Then Ren saw a pair of soldiers step a few feet in front of his window and begin firing at the Nuckelavee. The humanoid, imp-like head turned to look at them as it growled, then it turned to face them.

"Oh, shit," Ren said. He quickly jumped down and ran to the bars of his cell, hunched down, and covered his head with his arms and shut his eyes.

There was a pair of screams before a loud crack behind him. Ren heard blood splatter and bone break, as well as the heavy hoofbeats nearby. He then heard more distant gunfire, which the Nuckelavee seemed to respond to. The presence behind the wall turned away, then charged again to another place.

Ren opened his eyes and stood up, looking behind him. His cell wall was heavily damaged, and was almost down. The stone was cracked, and there were now chipped holes in the structure. Ren inhaled and attempted to kick the wall down, but the stone, while damaged, was till sturdy. He jumped back up to the window, and tried to loosen the stone with his feet.

Just then, another figure appeared in front of his window. Ren looked to see the side of a man, though he was unlike any man Ren had ever seen before. He was tall, with grey hair and dark brown eyes. He wore regal green and gold, and a pair of spectacles darker than the blackest midnight. In his pale fists was a cane that did not seem to be made out of any material on Remnant; it was dark and menacing. Even standing among fire, his presence was as dark as the night.

There was no mistaking. This was Lord Ozpin.

Lord Ozpin did nothing but watch as the Nuckelavee slaughtered his soldiers, but Ren did not care. This powerful-looking man was the best possible chance for him now. Ren cleared his voice, then spoke.

"My Lord!" he called, doing his best to keep his tone monotone and respectful. The dark man turned and stared him down with a glare that unsettled even Ren.

"Please, with your kind permission, I would like to aid your forces in stopping that beast!" Ren said, doing his best to charm the Lord.

Lord Ozpin's eyes seemed to turn even darker as he slowly approached the cell, his cane tapping menacingly on the stone.

"And why," he said with a venomous voice, "would I care about you or these incompetent buffoons?"

"Because," Ren said, a bit scared of the dark man, "you desire children for your forces. And if your men fail, you will lose out on your prizes." Ren did his best to bow down, all while keeping his head at the window. "I know that there are strong children in this village, and that they will be assets to your glory. I live only to serve you, my Lord. Free me, and I will aid your soldiers in stopping that monster, and delivering you that you wish!"

Ren understood, simply from the darkness emanating off of this man, that any action he took would not be out of thankfulness or charity. Only desire. So that was what Ren did: appeal to his desire.

Lord Ozpin stood, silent and unmoving as the screams behind him escalated. "So," he finally hissed, "you desire freedom, in exchange for servitude?"

Ren bowed lower. "I serve only you, my Lord."

Lord Ozpin gripped his cane tightly, then suddenly swung it at the cell wall. Ren did not even have time to react as a blast of energy obliterated the wall, knocking him backward into the bars behind him. Ren gritted his teeth in pain as he stood straight, feeling the cold night air hit his face. Ren looked before him to see a hole where the wall once stood, with piles of rubble and two corpses lying on the ground.

Ren stepped forward slowly, then stepped outside of the cell. He was freed, finally allowed to kill as he desired again. Lord Ozpin had freed him.

"Go," Lord Ozpin commanded. "And do not fail me."

Ren faced him and knelt down. He pulled a dagger off of one of the soldier's corpses as he bowed.

"Yes, my god," he said.

* * *

The soldier fired at the Nuckelavee's head, causing it to screech. The beast swung its arms at him, but he dodged. As he looked back up, he saw a teenage boy runnng towards the Grimm with a blade.

"What the-" the soldier muttered.

Ren slid down and sliced at the Nuckelavee's legs. The monster screeched as it backed up, both heads turning to look at Ren. The beast kicked, and Ren just barely dodged the hooves. He rolled under the horse-like body, appearing next to the soldier.

"Tell your soldiers to circle around it," Ren said. "Draw its attention in all directions. Then, when it extends its arms to attack, use any means necessary to pin them down. Stab them with something, roll over them in your vehicles, whatever it takes. That's the only way it's going down."

The soldier nodded, not questioning the boy's authority and instead just going with the plan. He stood up and ran to his troops and began barking orders.

The Nuckelavee tried to step on Ren, but he jumped up and grabbed onto the horse part's neck. He clung to it as he stabbed it several times. The horse whinnied before throwing Ren off. The Nuckelavee extended its arms and grabbed at Ren, grasping him around the waist and squeezing. Ren winced under the pressure as the Grimm pinned him to the ground and raised its claws to slice him open. Quickly, Ren slammed the dagger into the Nuckelavee's finger, causing it to release him. Ren gasped for air as the monster pulled back and shook the dagger out of its hand, throwing it to some unknown place. Just as the Nuckelavee turned its attention back to Ren, there was a flurry of gunfire.

There was a ring of soldiers forming a perimeter around the Grimm, all firing. The Nuckelavee turned and shrieked before extending both its arms, each of them catching a soldier and killing them. As one hand slammed its soldier down to the ground, cracking their skull, several more soldiers emerged from one of the destroyed houses, carrying a sharp wooden beam. They rammed it down in unison, stabbing through the Grimm's arm and pinning it to the stone. The Nuckelavee roared and screeched in pain, but could not free itself.

Before its other arm could rise up to pull the beam out, one of the vehicles rolled over it with audible crunching. The Nuckelavee cried out again and attempted to free itself, but could not. A soldier was sitting at the Dust cannon on top of the vehicle. She turned the canon towards the Nuckelavee's head and fired, creating a fiery blast that enveloped it and blew off one of its horns.

Ren stood back up and approached the now helpless Grimm as it writhed and stomped, attempting to free itself. As Ren approached, he saw a glimmer nearby, and looked to see the knife he had been using lying on the stone road. Ren slowly picked it up, looked at the Nuckelvee, and threw it. The blade landed neatly in the humanoid head, right between the eyes. The Grimm shrieked one last time before its whole body collapsed dead onto the ground.

"Impressive," a voice said. Ren and the soldiers looked to see Lord Ozpin approaching. They all knelt in unison, with Ren placing down his weapon before him as he bowed.

"We serve only you, my Lord," Ren said.

"Indeed," Lord Ozpin remarked in his toxic voice. "I suggest you accompany my forces, child. You are just the kind of killer I'm looking for."

Ren felt his heart swell, but made sure to keep his mouth straight. "Yes, god."


	26. Chapter 18: Contact

**Chapter 18: Contact**

"Cinder Fall?" a familiar voice said on the other end.

"Oh my…" Cinder whispered. "Hazel? Tyrian? Is that you?"

"No, it's the damn gods of Light and Darkness!" another all-too-familiar voice said. Cinder instantly recognized its crazed tone. Roman and Mercury hurried over, and Emerald slowly comforted Salem before jogging over.

"Oh my gods!" Emerald squealed. "It is so good to hear from you guys!"

"Likewise, Miss Sustrai," the charismatic, deep voice of Hazel Rainart replied.

"How are you guys doing this?" Roman asked. "I thought communications were restricted to one-way messages. They can't track this call, can they?"

"Oh, yeah, totally," the sarcastic and rude, but still energetic voice of Tyrian Callows said back. "They're tracking it and they'll be there any minute. Of course it's secure! Do you think we'd call you if it wasn't?"

Roman was just about to shout at Tyrian when Hazel interrupted. "Knock it off, Tyrian," he said in his baritone voice. He cleared his throat. "Yes, this is secure. We've gotten some help, and we're using a signal not part of the CCT. It's an independent system, not under Lord Ozpin's surveillance."

"Who's helping you?" Mercury asked.

"We'll tell you in a bit," Hazel replied. "First, we want to know how things are going over there."

Cinder sighed. "Terrible. The hideout is gone."

"What?" Tyrian practically shouted.

"Oh dear," Hazel said. "What happened?"

"They're getting more and more desperate to finish us off," Cinder said. "They've engineered a robot that can disguise itself as a person. We were stupid enough to let it in, and it firebombed the whole place. We barely made it out. We've been scavenging for the last week."

"Not to mention they've sent Huntsmen and Huntresses after us, as well as Schnee." Roman added.

"How awful," Hazel said. "Is anyone hurt?"

Everyone was silent for a moment. Then Cinder cleared her throat. "Neo is dead."

There was an uncomfortable silence as the two allies on the other end processed the information.

"I'm so sorry to hear that," Hazel said slowly. "How did it happen?" he asked.

"The Reaper." Cinder said solemnly.

"That monster's there?" Tyrian said, clearly through gritted teeth.

Cinder shrugged, but nodded slightly. "She was. We haven't seen her in a few weeks. Ever since we sent out that message to you."

"Well," Hazel said, a sound of sadness in his voice, "I'll admit that was the kind of news I didn't want to hear. May she rest in peace." Cinder decided not to tell him about what Beacon had done to her body.

"How's Salem?" Hazel asked.

"Not good," Emerald said. "She's slipping more and more every day. She doesn't even know who we are most of the time. I'm afraid she won't be with us for much longer."

"Well, it sounds like you're all thoroughly fucked over there, aren't you?" Tyrian said.

Cinder sighed again. "I guess that's a good way to put it." Then she noticed Adam walking over slowly.

"Before we continue," Cinder said, "we've gotten some new help as well. Adam Taurus is with us now."

"The leader of the White Fang?" Tyrian questioned.

"Formerly," Adam said, approaching the Scroll. "Greetings. I am Adam Taurus."

"Pleased to meet you," Hazel said. "Hazel Rainart. And Tyrian Callows."

"So what made you decide to stop butchering anyone who wasn't in your group?" Tyrian asked coldly.

"That's the agenda of the new High Leader Blake Belladonna." Adam replied. "And I want no part in it."

"Sure you don't," Tyrian snapped.

"Anyway," Cinder interrupted, trying to shift the subject. "You said you had help. Who is it?"

Both Hazel and Tyrian were silent for a moment, then Hazel replied. "We'll introduce you to him, but you all need to know this now: no one outside of this select group can know. We need to make sure that his involvement with us is kept an absolute secret."

"Why?" Mercury asked.

There was another pause. "He's in Lord Ozpin's council."

It was Cinder's group's turn to go silent.

"Wait a fucking second," Roman said, shutting his eyes tightly. "We have someone from Lord Ozpin's council on our side? Did he betray him? Do we know he can be trusted?"

"Yes," Hazel said. "He is as sick of Lord Ozpin's tyranny as we are, and he's helped Tyrian and I ever since we arrived here in Mistral."

"Hold on," Cinder said. "You're clear out in Mistral? I thought you were still in Vale. Last I heard you were surveying Patch."

"We did," Tyrian said. "Nasty place. Nasty people. But if it weren't for our friend in high places, we wouldn't have even gotten there… or out of there."

"So who is this ally?" Roman asked.

"He's here with us now," Hazel said. "We'll bring him over, as long as you promise two things."

Cinder glanced to her teammates, who all either shrugged or nodded. She glanced back to the Scroll.

"Okay," she said. "What do we need to promise?"

"First off, you need to promise that his identity will remain secret. If Lord Ozpin knew of his betrayal, both him and we would be in a lot of trouble."

"I think we can promise that," Cinder said.

"Second, you need to promise that you'll take it easy on him when you learn who he is. No doubt you've heard about him, and some of the things he's had to do in Lord Ozpin's service. Remember that he never wanted to do those things, and he's doing his best to try and help us out. Don't scare him off."

Cinder took another look around at her allies before responding. "Okay. I guess we can promise that too."

"Very well then," Hazel said. "Tyrian, can you wave him over?"

Cinder heard Tyrian grumble, but step away from the microphone. There was moment of uneasy silence, then a new voice joined the call.

"Uh… h-hello?" a shaky voice asked.

* * *

The large wooden door creaked open. Lord Ozpin peered up at the tall, grey figure entering his chambers. He strode slowly over towards the desk, stumbling slightly. The room was cloaked in shadow, the only light coming in being the pale moonlight seeping through the pouring rain and tinted window behind Lord Ozpin's back.

"Much appreciation for your... hasty arrival," Lord Ozpin said. The figure's disposition angered him, but he had bigger problems now.

The figure shrugged and pulled a flask off of his belt. Without even looking at Lord Ozpin, he pressed the flask between his lips and drank greedily. He gasped for air as he pulled away and answered.

"I was in the neighborhood," the figure said in a slurred, gravelly voice. "Finally found sis and payed her a little... visit."

"I see," Lord Ozpin replied. "And how did this... visit... with the deserter go?"

The figure slumped into the seat across from Lord Ozpin and pulled his collapsing scythe off of his back. The blade extended, revealing that it was stained with recently spilled blood.

"Fortunate," Lord Ozpin said. "Another loose end I no longer need concern myself about."

"Well," the figure slurred, putting away his scythe, "if you've called me in, you must have more loose ends to sever."

"Indeed I do," Lord Ozpin said, his gaze growing darker. "The... what was it called again... Resistance... has become an ever-growing burden for me and my empire. Additionally, certain developments and new information have made their annihilation evolve from a side task for the Huntsmen and Huntress... into a priority." As he spoke, the figure could see his eyes growing darker as a sudden cold chill blew through the room.

The figure lifted his head. "Judging by your reaction, I'm just going to take a wild guess here as ask it: 'she's' still alive?"

Lord Ozpin remained motionless, but the cold wind picked up and a lightning bolt flashed outside. A clap of thunder followed.

"I see," the figure replied. "Let me also guess: you want me to hunt down this... Resistance... and cut them all down to size?"

Lord Ozpin nodded slowly.

"And as for 'her'..." the figure said, standing up clumsily, "dead or alive?"

"Dead," Lord Ozpin spat. "And with proof. Bring me her head, with everything we put there still inside."

"One last question," the figure said, scratching his head. "You want me to work with your Huntsmen, Huntresses, and Schnee, or by myself?"

"Whatever allows this task to be over with faster," Lord Ozpin commanded. "Every second she is alive is an insult. Just get it done, Branwen."

Qrow Branwen took another drink from his flask. "No worries, my Lord," he said as he turned to leave. "I'll get it done."

Lord Ozpin reclined back into his chair. The Resistance know had Huntsmen, Huntresses, Schnee, P.E.N.N.Y., and the deadliest assassin in Remnant after them. There was no place they could hide. Salem would die this time.

* * *

Yang breathed in the cold, wet air. The rain pouring down on her was a sensation she had not felt in a long time. When she first felt the raindrops fall, she had recoiled because she thought she was getting hit again. However, after a few hours walking in the rain, she was beginning to shiver from the cold. The rain had washed away some of the dirt and blood from her body, and she did not know how to interpret being clean.

Ruby yanked the chain, pulling Yang forward. Her eyes were locked on the ground. She was unusually quiet, raging internally.

It had been weeks since Ruby's last kill. After having being forced to retreat at the tower, she had wandered the waste for days, and only found a pair of people: a musclar, tan woman in a basement that she had decapitated, and a sheep Faunus in a tent that she had strangled to death and then fed part of to Yang. Weeks went by after that, with no victims to be found. Even then, Ruby had noticed that she was not satisfied with those two kills; they felt empty for some reason.

"What's happening to me?" Ruby asked herself. Yang was unable to hear her over the clicking of the chain and the pouring of the rain. "I'm supposed to surpass the gods. I'm supposed to be Remnant's bane. Killing is what I love the most. So why does it seem so... unfulfilling now?" She gazed up ahead. There was nothing but abandoned streets and vacant buildings. "I'm losing my touch. I need something else... but what?"

As Ruby talked to herself, she noticed an abnormality in the rainwater pooling on the sidewalk where she stood. There was a dark cloud in it, running along. Ruby instantly recognized it as blood. It was not fresh, but it was recent enough to not have dried up completely. Ruby's gaze followed the stream, which was coming from an alleyway nearby. She quickened her pace to follow it, choking Yang as she pulled her forward. Ruby rounded the corner and saw a corpse in front of her. At least, pieces of one. It looked like it had been cut up in a manner not unlike how she liked to kill her victims. It was an older woman, with black hair and pale skin. Her head had been cut off and in half below the nose, though Ruby could not see the lower half. Her abdomen, which was draped with ripped red and black clothing and a pearl necklace, was cut at the stomach, and her legs were on two separate ends of the alley, covered in black pants and ending in black boots. A single eyeball with a red iris lay next to the body.

Ruby inhaled deeply, smelling the blood and picking up the smell of alcohol. As excited and aroused as she was upon finding this gruesome sight, she was still upset; upset that it had not been her to be the one to kill this woman. If she wanted to kill people, she had to get to them before anyone else did. As much as she hated to admit it, she needed a new outlet to live out her deadly fantasies. Somewhere where there was a constant supply of victims being fed to her.

Ruby knew of some sort of bounty hunting operation being run on the northern side of the city, by some scumbag crime lord known as the "Golden Monkey", but she did not know if that was the right place for her. Ruby huffed as she clenched her fist. What she really wanted was to kill those other survivors that she had missed at the tower. She had already killed one of them; it would be so satisfying to finish off the rest. But if she wanted to surpass all others, she had to begin aiming higher... target someone with real power.

Suddenly, Ruby got an idea. She stared down at the mutilated corpse on the ground as the wicked thoughts ran through her mind. Maybe there was a way to not only kill those assholes, but also set someone of power up right where she wanted them. She would have to compromise on her morals (or lack thereof) to earn that person's trust, but once she did... she would then be ready to challenge the gods themselves.

"Yes..." Ruby mused, her face contorting into a warped, toothy smile. Lightning flashed and thunder clapped, then Ruby began laughing. She had a plan now. And she was feeling like herself again. Her laugh grew louder and louder until she threw her head back, eyes staring into the flashing lightning, and screeched with maniacal laughter. Yang cowered.


	27. Chapter 19: Planning

**Chapter 19: Planning**

"May I ask who's speaking?" Cinder asked.

"Oh!" the timid voice on the other end answered. "I do apologize. I am Leonardo Lionheart."

Cinder froze, and heard an audible gasp from Emerald.

"Leonardo Lioheart?" Emerald said in a loud voice. "The head of Haven Penitentiary?"

"That would be correct," the voice replied.

"How dare you!" Mercury suddenly yelled. "Your prison is a concentration camp! You've murdered so many people!"

"Please," Lionheart continued, his voice trembling. "There is an explanation for everything."

"You think we're gonna listen to you?!" Mercury shouted.

"Mr. Black-" Hazel started.

"Kid-" Tyrain spoke

"Please-" Lionheart stuttered.

"Hush!" Cinder shouted over the commotion. Both sides went quiet. Cinder shot a glare at Mercury, then looked back at the Scroll. "We will listen. But it'd better be good."

Cinder heard Lionheart clear his throat. "Thank you, Miss Fall. Now, as I said, I can explain. Since early in Lord Ozpin's reign, I've been managing Haven Penitentiary. And you are right, Mr. Black. It is a concentration camp. Lord Ozpin sends the common folk here for the most minor of infractions to be tortured and killed. And officially, that is what we've been doing."

"She said it had to be good," Roman interrupted. "This doesn't sound good to me."

Lionheart cleared his throat again, this time sounding more like he was doing it to shift the attention back onto what he was saying. "However, unofficially, and unbeknownst to Lord Ozpin and even the public, very few people die here."

"What do you mean?" Adam asked.

"I've never agreed with Lord Ozpin," Leonardo Lionheart said. "He's a tyrant and a fiend. And every time someone was sent to Haven, I filled the report that they were killed, when in actuality, most of the people sent here I've been personally sheltering."

"Sheltering?" Emerald asked.

"Yes. I put them to work, producing Dust and weaponry for Lord Ozpin's forces. However, we've been holding on to quite a bit of our product ourselves, just enough so that we won't raise suspicions."

"So you're saying not one person has died in Haven?" Cinder asked, confused.

"I wish that were the case, but no," Lionheart replied. "Some of the elderly and sick have not survived, given our limited resources. Additionally, in order to not raise suspicions, we need to kill people every so often to make it seem like we're doing our job. Those deaths have been noble sacrifices from brave men and women, who we honor every day."

"So how are you connected with us?" Cinder asked, finding it all rather hard to believe.

"I have been for quite some time. Mr. Rainart, Mr. Callows, and I have been talking for some time now, shortly after they left to find headquarters."

"He guided us to Patch, where we were able to collect some intelligence on Signal Academy," Hazel said.

"We were busted," Tyrian interrupted. "They were going to kill us, but Lionheart told them that Lord Ozpin wanted us sent to Haven. They obeyed, and that's where we are now."

"It's taken some time," Lionheart continued, "but we were finally able to set up our own, independent communication network, with some help from Dr. Arthur Watts…"

"Watts?" Torchwick said. "I thought he was dead."

"Exactly,"Lionheart said. "After the Huntsmen and Huntresses brought him in, pretty injured I should add, we faked his death report. He's been here for about a year now, helping us design the communication network. Now that it's up, we'll be able to maintain contact with your group without having to risk hacking into the CCT."

"So that's why our Scroll received your call," Emerald said, smiling slightly.

Cinder shook her head and rubbed her eye with her pointer finger. "Hazel," she said, "this is a lot to take in. After we hadn't heard from you, we thought you were dead. Now we hear that not only are you guys alive, but we have Leonardo Lionheart on our side?"

"Well, we obviously couldn't contact you until now," Tyrian snapped.

"I understand, Miss Fall," Hazel said. "But there's more. The people here in Haven are all a part of our cause. We practically have an army on our hands. Also, we feel we have enough Dust and weaponry to make a major strike. The Resistance is better off than you thought."

Adam and Roman glanced at each other, Emerald sighed and sat down slowly, and Mercury chuckled a bit. Cinder leaned down. "I wish Neo were here to hear this…" she muttered.

"I know, my dear," Hazel said solemnly.

"As it stands now, Haven is a dam," Lionheart announced. "And that dam is ready to burst. The people here trust me, and are ready to fight. You say the word, and we'll march on Beacon Fortress ourselves."

"Beacon Fortress…" Cinder mused, shutting her eye. She breathed slowly, processing. She heard relieved chatter among her peers. If only… wait. Cinder thought about what Lionheart said. She thought for a moment, then her eye shot open.

"That's it!" Cinder said loudly. The chatter behind her stopped, and there was silence.

"What is what?" Tyrian asked. "Stop being so vague."

Cinder grabbed the Scroll and held it closer to her face. "Okay, listen to me," she said excitedly. "We decided that we needed to attack Beacon Laboratory if we were going to stop the production of all the robots and weapons there."

"But that's quite difficult, especially with the guards, Huntsmen, Huntresses-" Lionheart said.

"Hear me out," Cinder interrupted. "We knew that the only way that we were going to have any shot was to have Lord Ozpin send his forces somewhere else, somewhere where he thinks we are. You aid Lord Ozpin doesn't know about what's really happening in Haven, right?"

"Correct," Lionheart replied.

"That's it! Haven is the other place!" Cinder said.

Emerald placed a hand on Cinder's shoulder. "Cinder, what are you talking about?"

"If we set up that there's some kind of mass revolt at Haven, one that we caused, one Lionheart and his men can't contain, Lord Ozpin will send Huntsmen, Huntresses, guards, soldiers… anyone he can to make sure that they, and by extension, we, don't escape. He'll think he has the entire Resistance cornered, when in actuality, we'll still be here, blowing up Beacon Laboratory!"

"That could work," Hazel said, "but if he sends all those forces here, then he'll know about Lionheart's betrayal. There are too many people alive in here. And if we hide people to make the amount seem right, we won't have enough to overpower the forces he sends."

"I can fake my death," Lionheart said. "I can make it seem like I was killed attempting to stop the breakout. That way, if Lord Ozpin does put together that I've turned against him, he won't be able to punish me. Even if he didn't figure it out, he'd try to kill me for failing him anyway. Then, not only are we all escaping Haven and taking down his forces with us, but we're providing the distraction you need to destroy that laboratory."

"It's risky," Roman worried, lighting a cigarette (his cigars had been destroyed with the base). "A lot of those people would be going against Huntsmen and Huntresses. We don't know what you'll be up against. A lot of people could die."

"We have no way of knowing," Lionheart said. "But I, as well as I assume most of the people in here, are willing to take the risk."

"It will require a lot of planning," Roman said, puffing on his cigarette.

"And a lot of communication," Hazel said.

"Not to mention taking into account the Reaper and the robot," Mercury added.

"It's our best shot," Cinder said, setting the Scroll back down. "And we have no time to lose. Let's start planning,"


	28. Chapter 20: Alliances and Adversaries

**Chapter 20: Alliances and Adversaries**

Leonardo Lionheart set his Scroll down on the small wooden desk. He breathed heavily, his heart beating quickly in his chest. He sighed and leaned on his arm, his palm pressed into his bearded cheek. He was frightened. He knew the dangers of what he was doing. His life, as well as the lives of everyone he had tried to keep safe, were at risk. But in order to eliminate a risk, a risk had to be taken. Lord Ozpin would either kill all of them or some of them, and while Lionheart hated both options, it was clear which one he had to choose.

On his right and left stood Hazel Rainart and Tyrian Callows, respectively. Hazel, a massive, burly, hairy man stood with his arms crossed and his gaze down. Tyrian, a thin, but muscular man with a thin head and a dark ponytail, stood on the other side, his scorpion-like Faunus tail twitching in the shadows.

As Lionheart and the others sat in thought, there was a knock at the door; a familiar knock, firm and rhythmic. Lionheart could tell who it was without even having to look up.

"Come in," he said.

The dark wood door opened, and his ally limped in. Though he had healed since his arrest, he would likely never lose the the limp for as long as he lived. The man twitched his bushy mustache as he made his way to Lionheart's desk.

"I take it you contacted the Vale group?" Dr. Watts asked.

Lionheart nodded in reply.

"And how, may I ask, are they faring?" the doctor asked, pulling up a red chair and shakily sitting down.

"Not good," Lionheart replied, sighing. "Not good at all. That lovely Neopolitan girl is dead, and the base was destroyed." He leaned back in his soft chair. "Apparently Lord Ozpin has begun production of robotic humanoids capable of infiltration and assassination. Their main goal is to stop that production."

"Sounds difficult," Watts replied, rubbing his knee. "What part do they want us to play in it?"

Lionheart lowered his head to lock eyes with his friend. "Call in the inner circle. We've got important things to discuss."

* * *

Watts reclined into the chair, gently rubbing his trembling, sore leg. When Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren had arrested him, the former had shattered almost every part of his legs with her hammer before he was arrested and sent to die in Haven Penitentiary. Fortunately for him, Lionheart kept him alive, and as time passed and his body began to gradually heal, he eventually worked his way up to Lionheart's secret right-hand and most trusted ally. He was grateful that he had not perished before he could have been of use, especially with the communication issues that the Resistance had in his absence.

Sitting in the chair across from him was another ally: a white-haired, elderly man with an eyepatch slung over his right eye. His hair was frazzled and wild, and he gripped the chair's armrests with a real right hand and a prosthetic left.

Standing nearby, next to the now-shut door, was a tall, tanned woman in a short top that revealed her midriff, tight red shorts, and long thigh-high black boots. She brushed her pretty red hair from her face, revealing her bright eyes. Next to her was her partner, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. He was muscular, with a spiky mohawk and matching goatee. He wore a silver chest plate and green hood.

Lionheart leaned forward on his desk, crossing his fingers in front of him. He cleared his throat, then spoke. "We made contact with the Vale branch."

There were sighs of relief, and the woman cheered quietly.

Lionheart sighed again. "Unfortunately, they're not doing well. But they have a plan, a plan to cripple Beacon Laboratory. And we here at Haven have a very important role to play in it."

"Finally," the man with the mohawk muttered. "We get to do something."

"Easy, Mr. Celadon," Hazel said in his calm but deep voice.

Lionheart adjusted himself in his seat. "In order to strike Beacon Laboratory, there needs to be a diversion. Something to draw Lord Ozpin's forces away from Beacon Fortress and somewhere else. As you've probably guessed, that somewhere else is going to be here. The revolt is going to begin."

The old man scratched his bearded chin with his prosthetic arm. "I see," he said. "How much time do we have to prepare?"

"Not long," Lionheart responded. "They want to hit it soon. According to them, Beacon Laboratory had begun producing robotic humanoids capable of infiltration, assassination, and mass destruction. Additionally, in one of the more gruesome details they shared, the laboratory has also been mechanically and biologically modifying corpses to move and act as foot soldiers."

"Oobleck, no doubt," the old man said, gripping both of his hands into fists. "All the time I knew him, he had a fascination with the deceased. He was working on something called Project Deadwind, which was designed to do exactly what you just described."

"Sick fuck," Tyrian muttered.

Hazel motioned towards the man. "Please, Dr. Merlot, go on. Any information you can give us would be most helpful."

The aged doctor nodded. "While I never saw him make much progress on it, he did develop something called the LOCK system. It's like a microchip, and it theoretically could have used a chemical output to stimulate brain activity. Not enough to form conscious thought, memory, or personality, but just enough to move a body. However, there were so many issues that he never got it to work while I was there. The neural networks that could be affected were very specific, and the bodies would have required tons of various serums and steroids, as well as gallons upon gallons of an artificial blood that didn't work in most bodies."

"Then he must have figured out how to get past or work with those limitations," Watts replied. "He probably had help from Goodwitch with the mechanical aspects."

Lionheart leaned back slightly. "I think it'd be a good idea to let the Vale branch know about this when we have the chance."

The woman cleared her throat and stepped forward. "Well, I'm more worried about those robots. What's the deal on those?"

Tyrian shrugged. "They said something about it being disguised as a little girl. It was able to fake its way into the base before attacking and firebombing the whole place."

"The P.E.N.N.Y. Project," Watts said. He put his hand on his chin. "It was the brainchild of Pietro Polendina and Glynda Goodwitch. Polendina was executed shortly after I escaped, and I figured without him, they'd never be able to do anything with the project. I'm disturbed that they made so much progress."

"They likely got help from General Ironwood and the Schnee Dust Company," Dr. Merlot explained. "Ironwood's weapons division probably chipped in a fair deal, and the SDC specializes in energy propellant."

"Sounds terrifying," the woman said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Indeed, Ms. Esclados," Hazel said. "On top of it, we don't even know if the one that attacked the Vale branch was destroyed. It used itself as a firebomb, but the group said they didn't find its remains in the wreckage."

Carmine Esclados sighed and shook her head. Bertilak Celadon huffed and did the same.

"What about Salem?" Watts asked.

There was an uncomfortably long pause before Lionheart replied. "They said that her condition has worsened. They're not sure how much time she has left."

There was another moment of silence as the group took in the information. While not all of them in that room had personal connections to Salem or even knew her too well, everyone understood what she meant to the Resistance.

"Well, it sounds like we're thoroughly fucked," Bertilak growled, his frown growing larger.

"My thoughts exactly," Tyrian echoed.

Watts scowled at the two, but tried to ignore them. "So, Leonardo," he said, "what's the plan?"

Lionheart leaned forward again, his face serious and stoic. "We need to find a way to convince Lord Ozpin that the Vale branch is here. Not just hint at it or spread rumors, but make him believe completely that the Resistance is here. When we begin the revolt, we'll get the children, sick, and elderly out first so that they won't be in the line of fire when Lord Ozpin's forces arrive. And we should expect everything to be thrown at us: guards, soldiers, Huntsmen, Huntresses, everything. When they arrive, we need to keep them here for as long as we can, and try to prevent any communication between them and Beacon."

"I can work on a hack," Watts said.

"Would we even be able to stand against an army like that?" Bertilak asked.

"With all the people Lord Ozpin's sent here, who are all angry and ready to fight?" Lionheart replied. "Yes. It will not be without heavy losses, but we should outnumber them."

"Key word being 'should'," Tyrian snapped.

Hazel stepped in. "While we're liberating everyone and taking down Lord Ozpin's forces, the Vale Branch will infiltrate Beacon Laboratory and destroy it, ending or at the very least slowing the production of the robots and corpses. That's why its imperative that there is no communication between the forces here and Beacon Fortress; if the forces get called back to Beacon, then the Vale branch is in serious danger."

Lionheart stood up slowly, looking over his allies. "We need to let everyone know what's happening. Start training and planning. Drills, practices, preparations… everything we can do until Vale gives us the go ahead. We're risking a lot here. Let's hope it works."

* * *

Gunfire.

Jaune stopped sharpening his sword and looked up, attempting to listen closer. Pyrrha, who was putting on her armored boots, did the same. The room was quiet for a moment, but both Jaune and Pyrrha jumped when Nora burst in loudly.

"Did you hear that?" she practically yelled.

Jaune winced and held up his hand, waving it down to signal to Nora to be quiet. While Nora usually did not react well to people telling her to shut up, she realized that they were all trying to listen and decided to obey. As the room quieted again, Ren noiselessly walked in, his face now covered by a new, black mask with a forest green trim. He listened with them.

It was faint and echoed, but the sound came again. It sounded like a gun firing in the distance, along with the slightest hint of yelling. Suddenly, a loud alarm sounded, startling Jaune, Pyrrha, and Nora simultaneously.

"Intruder alert," the monotone, robotic voice said over an unseen intercom system. "Intruder alert."

Jaune and Pyrrha shot glances at each other as Jaune picked up his sword and Pyrrha grabbed her spear and shield. Nora and Ren wasted no time, with Nora readying her hammer and Ren pulling out one of his guns as they began running towards the door. Jaune and Pyrrha leapt to their feet and followed them out the door and down the grey hallway towards a now louder sound of yelling and gunfire.

"An intruder?" Pyrrha said over the blaring alarm and repetitive warnings. "Who would be stupid enough to break into Beacon Fortress?"

Jaune pulled his shield off of his belt as he ran. "Don't know. But Lord Ozpin is the priority. Whoever it is, do not let them reach his chambers."

The yelling and screaming got louder as the Huntsmen and Huntresses approached, along with what sounded like metallic rattling. Suddenly and without warning, the yelling and shooting silenced, and all that was left was the blaring alarm.

Ren, Nora, Jaune, and Pyrrha rounded a corner, the hallway spitting them out into the grand hall in front of Lord Ozpin's quarters. His giant, dark brown doors were sealed shut, and the alarm system was not present, leaving the alarm only a faint screeching in the distance. The grand hall was lined with statues of Lord Ozpin, each representing a feat he had achieved or a location he ruled. Lanterns of green flame were situated on the walls, casting a green hue on the whole room. Aside from the lanterns and light from adjoining hallways, the hall was extremely dark, and faded to black along the columns and ceiling.

As the Huntsmen and Huntresses skidded to a halt, they saw the disturbing scene at the far end. The dark walls, along with the marble floor, was stained with red blood, still running down into the cracks. There were pieces of guard armor, as well as pieces of guards, scatted about gruesomely on the floor. Standing in the middle of the carnage, her hood and scythe as red as the blood around her, was the Reaper, situated in a battle stance and grinning. In one fist she gripped her stained weapon, and in the other she gripped a rusted metal chain, which ran down onto the floor and was attached to a spiked metal collar, wrapped tightly around the neck of a dirty, armless, blond girl with a piece of bloody purple fabric wrapped over her eyes.

"You!" Pyrrha yelled, pointing her spear at the Reaper.

Jaune held up his sword and shield, though he recoiled a bit when he saw Yang. "Ugh… and she's got that… thing with her."

Yang would have been insulted if she could even comprehend what was happening. All she heard was loud noises, and she was tired and afraid.

Ruby smiled, and pulled the hood off of her head. She stood straight as she whipped her dark hair out of her face and, with her black sleeve, wiped her brow. She put her fist (the one holding Yang's chain) on her hip as she looked down the long hall.

"Hey there," she said in her usual, disturbingly chipper voice. "Any of you fuckers know where I can find Lord Ozpin?"

Ren took a step forward, pulling out his other gun. "You will not lay a finger on our god," he growled.

"Yeah!" Nora called. 'Tell 'er, Ren!"

To all of the Huntsman and Huntresses' surprise, Ruby lowered her scythe. She held it straight vertically in her fist like a staff, pointing the blade to the side.

"Don't worry, weirdo," she chuckled sinisterly. "I'm not gonna hurt him. I just want to have a teeny, tiny little word with him."

"Like we'd believe you!" Pyrrha said, readying to charge.

Ruby's toothy grin slowly shrunk, her lips closing into a small, evil smile. She stared at the Huntsmen and Huntresses with her silver gaze, then slowly took a few steps over to one of the columns to her left. Steadily and almost silently, she wrapped Yang's chain around one of the metal lantern holders, pulling it tight around the support. She raised her scythe as she walked back to the center of the bloody mess.

"So that's how it is, then," she said in a menacing tone.

Jaune pointed his sword at her. "Ruby Rose, you are under arrest for innumerable crimes against Lord Ozpin, including but not limited to threat to his property and person."

"Look, handsome," Ruby teased, running her free hand sensually down her hip and thigh, "I'm gonna give you one last chance to let me through."

Pyrrha stepped up next to Jaune as Nora and Ren held up their weapons. "You'll need to go through all of us," she warned.

Ruby's small smile flashed back into her wide grin. "I was hoping you'd say that," she said. She gripped her scythe handle in both fists, then began charging down the hall towards them, her boots thundering loudly on the floor.

Jaune began charging as well, his shield forward and his sword ready. Pyrrha copied his stance as she charged after him, her spear ready to be either thrown or swung. Nora ran forward as well, holding her hammer behind her, ready to swing. Ren held his arms behind him and charged forward, arcing his back down and keeping his footsteps light.

The connection came in the center of the hall, when all five fighters clashed. The first blow came as Ruby whirled her scythe blade into Jaune's shield with a loud metallic clang. It scraped off and over towards Pyrrha, who blocked with her shield, and took the opportunity to stab her spear at Ruby's face. Ruby tilted her head, allowing the blade to pass by as she spun around, her long red cape flowing behind her and taking up much of Jaune and Pyrrha's view.

Ren slid down towards the ground and across the floor, aiming his guns at Ruby. Just before he pulled the triggers, Ruby faced him and began spinning her scythe as fast as she possibly could in front of her. Ren fired several shots, and there were sounds of cracking and ricocheting as the bullets were hit away. Just as Ren fired his last shot, Ruby felt a stinging, hot pain. She winced and glanced to her shoulder. There was a gash in the fabric, and the skin beneath was red and bleeding. One of the bullets had gotten through.

As Ruby was distracted, Ren readied his weapons and charged at her, ready to stab into her. However, as he raised his blade, Nora suddenly stepped in front of him. Ren skidded to a halt.

"Nora! What the hell are you doing?!" he yelled.

Nora giggled and raised her hammer, swinging it at Ruby. Ren's shouting had gotten Ruby's attention, and she turned her head to identify the threat, but was too late to dodge it. Instead, she held her scythe handle in front of her like a shield and braced for impact.

The hammer slammed into the scythe, slamming Ruby away. Ruby even felt her feet leave the ground as the painful impact shook her violently and sent her skidding across the hall. She landed on her feet at first, but lost her balance and tumbled, doing her best to keep her weapon's blades away from her. She rolled on the ground, then stuck out her arms and pushed herself up while still moving. She stood with her weapon raised, preparing to charge back in.

However, Jaune charged first, sliding across the smooth floor with his shield up. Ruby held her scythe's handle up again as the two pieces of equipment clashed, clanging loudly. The impact was not enough to push her back this time, so Ruby put pressure on the shield.

As soon as Jaune felt the scythe press against his shield, he raised his sword and brought it down. Ruby, seeing the impending attack, broke away and slashed at Jaune's blade, knocking it away. Jaune began swinging his sword at Ruby, who turned and raised the small, dagger-like tip of her scythe handle like spear, and the two weapons began slashing at each other. Ruby would stab, and Jaune would hit the blade away. Jaune would swing, and Ruby would block.

As Jaune kept Ruby occupied, Ren ran to one of the columns and jumped up on top of one of the lantern holders, resting his feet on the metal arms. He raised his guns and tried to get a good shot. He probably would not have minded if he shot Jaune, but was not ready for the punishment that would come from that.

Pyrrha quickly threw her shield onto the strap on her back, and ran to the side of one of the halls. She held her spear out and raised it into the air. With her free hand, she raised her thumb and tried to project where she would throw it. She hoped that she would be able to throw it at just the right angle and at just the right time so that it would travel over Jaune's head and impale Ruby, but the two were moving so quickly that she was having trouble locking onto Ruby.

Nora, on the other hand, was not as patient as her peers. Yelling loudly as her only form of warning, Nora rushed in, preparing another swing like the one before. Jaune heard her charging footsteps and war cry and jumped out of the way, leaving an open path between Nora and her target. Nora smiled evilly when she saw Ruby in her sights, and swung her hammer hard.

However, Ruby had heard Nora's approach as well, and this time was ready for her. As Nora swung, Ruby leapt up into the air as high as she could, allowing the weapon to just barely miss her feet. Nora's smug grin faded when she realized that she had missed, but Ruby was not done. Ruby arced her scythe blade downwards, and swung it up in midair like a hook towards Nora. Nora yelped and jumped back as the blade pierced her pink combat shirt and began slicing up. Nora felt the blade slash her sensitive skin, and both the blade and the propulsion from her attempted dodge threw her back.

There was a loud tearing sound as Nora fell backwards onto her bottom, her hammer creating an ear-splitting ruckus as it crashed to the ground. Pieces of pink fabric fluttered into the air, and Nora gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut in pain. She did not have to look at her injury, as she already knew it. She pressed her hand on it to confirm: it was a long, large gash running from the bottom of her ribcage up to her collarbone. It was stinging and bleeding profusely. If Nora had not jumped when she did, the injury would have certainly been fatal. She felt up the injury, glad that it was not too deep, and feeling the hot skin…

Wait.

Nora's eyes opened in surprise when she realized that the Reaper's slash had torn her shirt clean off, revealing her bare chest underneath. She saw Ruby regaining her balance while smirking, and Jaune and Pyrrha looking at her with strange expressions of concern and disgust on their faces. Nora squealed in embarrassment as she threw her arm up over her breasts, doing her best to cover them. She blushed, though it was paler than usual due to the blood loss. She briefly checked to see if Ren was staring, but he was not. Favoring the stinging gash, Nora gently stood up and grabbed her hammer before ducking into one of the dark hallways, both to treat her wound and to flee the embarrassment.

Ren took no notice of Nora's wardrobe malfunction nor her injury, but saw an opening to open fire on Ruby. Carefully aiming, Ren prepared to pull the triggers.

At the same time, Pyrrha noted her opening as well. Trying to focus again, she turned and aimed her spear, then threw it confidently through the air. It rose high above the statues, then arced down and began its lethal descent.

Ruby swung at Jaune, catching him off-guard. He rose his shield in time to block, but was pushed back. Ruby stepped forward to advance, and then heard gunfire. Her eyes widened slightly when she realized she had left herself open.

Suddenly, Pyrrha's spear dropped from above, on track to impale her head. As it grew nearer, it suddenly sparked and twisted in the air, changing direction slightly. The blade dropped next to Ruby's head, cutting a lock of her dark hair off as it skimmed her and planted itself into the ground. It took a moment for all parties to realize what happened, and they all came to the same conclusion about the same time: Pyrrha's spear and Ren's bullets had reached the same spot at almost the exact same time. The bullets struck the spear, blocking the shots and redirecting the blade just slightly off its course.

Ruby, for one of the first times ever, had felt a twinge of fear before she realized what happened, and again for one of the first times, she breathed a sigh of relief as she raised Crescent Rose for defense again. Few things ever stood a chance against her, so when something legitimately put her life in jeopardy, it was different and unexpected. Part of her liked it.

Ren yelled in fury when he realized that his attack had been thwarted, and Pyrrha huffed in frustration. Jaune raised his sword.

Ruby, still reeling from how close the attacks came to finishing her, smiled as her breathing quickened. She giggled, both in in sadistic glee and relief. She looked up at the Huntsmen and Huntress.

"Oh my gods," she said in between pants and giggles. "You almost got me there. That was really close!"

"We'll just have to get closer, then!" Jaune yelled, preparing to attack. Just as his legs started to move, there was a loud slam from behind him. He, Pyrrha, and Ren all looked behind them to see the giant doors open wide. Blackness was behind them, and in the doorway stood Lord Ozpin himself, his posture straight and firm and his gaze angry and bitter.

Jaune gasped, and did not know whether to bow or warn him to go back to his chambers. Her turned his head to look at Ruby. To his shock. she stood there, smiling and breathing heavily, but craning her neck to look at Lord Ozpin.

"My Lord!" Ren said, jumping from his perch and kneeling.

"My Lord!" Pyrrha said, turning towards him. "Sir, you are in danger!"

"Enough," Lord Ozpin commanded in a booming, sour voice. "Arc, lower your weapons."

Jaune hesitated with the Reaper right there, but obeyed. He lowered his sword and shield and prepared for Ruby to strike, but she did not.

"Ruby Rose," Lord Ozpin said, his loud, demanding voice echoing through the dark hall. "The Reaper. Why do you pollute my air with your breath?" he asked menacingly.

Ruby lowered her scythe and shrugged, not intimidated by him like his lackeys were. "I'm guessing you're asking why I'm here. Well, I told your pets that I just wanted to chat. Talk business."

"And why," Lord Ozpin demanded, the air growing cold and his eyes growing darker, "would I even think of entertaining that idea? Why would I not just make my Huntsmen and Huntresses execute you?"

Ren and Jaune looked to Ruby, clutching their respective weapons. Pyrrha approached and carefully picked up her spear, glaring at Ruby angrily.

"Well, first of all, they haven't done a very good job at that," Ruby said smugly. "And if your pack of freaks here can't even kill me, how are they gonna kill the Resistance?"

Lord Ozpin raised his angry eyebrow, but said nothing.

"Oh yeah," Ruby said, drawing out the words like it was pleasurable. "I know about your little feud with those weirdos. I also know that, while you're merciless, you're not stupid. Don't you want to at least hear my proposal before you try… and fail… to kill me?"

Few things would have pleased Lord Ozpin more at that point than to smite this brat that dared to defy him to his face. But she had a point: he was not stupid. He quickly thought to himself that there could be advantages to, at the very least, hearing her out before killing her.

"Come," Lord Ozpin commanded, waving his arm towards his chambers and turning to reenter them. "We will speak in private." Ruby obeyed and folded Crescent Rose up before skipping down the hall towards him.

"My Lord-" Ren began, attempting to warn his god of the dangers of being alone with the lunatic, but Lord Ozpin simply shot him a cold glare. Ren instantly backed down.

Ruby smiled as she skipped past Jaune and Pyrrha. She coyly turned her head and stuck her tongue out at them as she passed by. They both scowled at her, and made sure that they walked to the center of the hall to block any attempt at escape. However, they simply watched as Ruby followed Lord Ozpin into the shadows beyond the doors, which slowly closed behind them and loudly slammed shut.


	29. Chapter 21: Moments

The rain returned. For whatever reason, Cinder did not mind it so much. The call they had received a few days prior had filled her with a sense that she had not felt in years. She did not know exactly how to describe it. She was not optimistic enough to call it hope, and she was still too afraid to call it excitement. She just felt like they had a chance, regardless of how small it was. Maybe it was surprise. Maybe it was intrigue. Either way, the dystopia did not seem so dark today.

Even Salem seemed calmer today. She still looked lost and confused, but stared at her allies with curiosity and interest. She may not have remembered their names or identities, but she at the very least recognized them as friends. She was not resistant or afraid, but rather quiet and compliant.

However, Mercury had developed a bad cold from his time in the rain. It was nothing life-threatening, but an inconvenience for all of them. Mercury spent most of the days huddled under blankets trying to get warm as he coughed and sneezed. Everyone was careful to keep a safe distance as not to get sick themselves.

Cinder pulled a pile of fabric scraps out of a backpack, and crudely wrapped them around her bare arms and tied knots. They were the best she could do to make sleeves, it would at the very least assist in keeping her warm. She pocketed a can of mole can meat and a vial of ice Dust.

"What are you doing, Cinder?" Emerald asked. Cinder did not see her approach, and jumped slightly, startled by her friend's voice.

"I'm going out," Cinder said.

"Back to the old base?" Emerald asked.

Cinder shook her head. "No. I'm going to set out further west, towards the edge of the city. We haven't cleaned out the buildings there yet."

"Well there's a few things wrong with that," Emerald said, placing her hand on her hip. Cinder turned her head slightly and gave her a side-eye. "First," Emerald said, "that's uncomfortably close to Forever Fall, where the White Fang usually convene. Second, you're not going anywhere alone. Especially not right now, with the Reaper and Lord Ozpin's forces after us."

"I am this time," Cinder replied, turning her attention back to wrapping fabric around her arms. "It's too dangerous to risk more than one person."

"It's too dangerous to risk anyone," Emerald said. "Why not wait until we can get better situated?"

"Because we're almost out of food and water, Em," Cinder huffed, grabbing her salvaged swords off of the floor next to her. "We got lucky with Lionheart, yes. But that doesn't change the fact that we are practically freezing to death in this basement, we only have a few vials of Dust, no medicine or first aid kits, our food and water supplies are limited, and I've been wearing the same itchy piece of cloth as an eyepatch for over a week. If I'm lucky, I'll find some supplies. If I'm really lucky, I might find someplace more livable that we can move into."

"And if you're not lucky?" Emerald scowled. "If P.E.N.N.Y. or the Reaper finds you?"

"Then you all have one less mouth to feed!" Cinder shouted, slamming her fist onto the hard concrete floor. She winced as she lifted her sore hand up, carefully stretching her fingers.

"That's not a good reason," another voice said, making Cinder jump again. She rolled her eye and glanced up to see Adam sitting in the nearby corner of the room, his black clothes almost hiding him in the shadows.

"Godsdammit, you people need to stop sneaking up on me!" Cinder growled.

"Look, I get it," Adam said, sitting up. "You're a leader. You care about your people more than yourself. You want to win, but you don't want them in danger. I know. But singling yourself out isn't going to make them feel any better if your group cares about you, and this group cares about you."

Cinder sighed, but did not reply. Adam stood up and put his hand on his sword.

"You best save your breath, Cinder," he said. "Emerald and I are going with you."

Cinder huffed again, but looked up at Adam with an exasperated, small smile.

Pyrrha winced and squirmed. "That thing is looking at me," she said.

"I don't think it can see at all," Jaune remarked. "See the cloth over its eyes? I think its eyes are missing."

"Well its head is turned in my direction, and it's creeping me out," Pyrrha replied. "Gods, what happened to her? Who is she?"

"I'm guessing the Reaper did that to her," Jaune said. "As for who she is, I don't know. But if she's stuck with the Reaper, I can't help but pity her."

Pyrrha nodded. "When you put it that way.." Then she shook her head. "Poor thing."

Yang was too far away to hear the Huntsman and Huntress talking about her. She was just relieved and confused at the quiet and calm of her situation. She was tied to something, but Ruby's presence was not there. Even though she could not see, she drooped her eyelids closed. She might have the first good sleep in years.

"Take a seat, Miss Rose," Lord Ozpin said, gesturing towards the chair on the opposite side of his desk. Ruby jumped into it, trying everything in her power to resist kicking her feet up onto the desk. Instead, she looked around the dark chambers.

"Nice place, Lordy," she said. "Dark, yet bold and intimidating. A bit gaudy for my taste, but still chill."

"You said you wanted to speak with me," Lord Ozpin huffed, crossing his fingers and resting his elbows on the desk. "So speak, or I will consider this time wasted."

"Okay, here's the deal, Ozzy," Ruby said, leaning in. "You hate the Resistance. Well, fun fact, I do too. First, their little ice cream cone smacks me in the face. I got her for that. Next, they evade my grasp and humiliate me at the CCT tower."

"Yes, I heard how you were involved in that little skirmish," Lord Ozpin said. "And how Ms. Schnee chased you away."

Ruby paused and gritted her teeth, her eyebrows dropping low with anger. She shook her head and tried to calm herself, which was a difficult thing to do. "That's besides the point," she said, changing the subject. "Point is, I've been losing my touch recently. I haven't killed someone in a good long while, and even then it's unfulfilling and empty. I need some targets, and you have people you want dead that I wouldn't mind slicing up. But I'm not just here to advertise myself as your hitwoman. I need some spice in my life. You've got all the power in the world, right? Share some of it with me. Give me the power to smite my enemies, and I can help you. You've got to have a long-term goal, don'tcha? Hire me to do your dirty work, and all I ask for payment is whatever power, whatever upgrades, whatever authority you can give me to make that job easier and more fun. Either way, you win." She leaned back in her chair. "Whadda say?"

Lord Ozpin scoffed. "You insult me," he growled. "What makes you think I need you? What could you possibly have to offer that I do not already posses?"

"Well," Ruby said, "I think my notoriety is a résumé in and of itself."

"What, because you're halfway decent with a scythe and have a body count?" Lord Ozpin barked, clearly annoyed. "I happen to have an army, as well as another scythe wielder currently hunting the Resistance as we speak."

Ruby laughed. "Qrow Branwen, I presume?" She smiled. "He's good, but he's so full of liquor you could stick a tap in him and open a bar. Not to mention, he hasn't been all there since your little… gift to him."

"And how do you know about that?" Lord Ozpin growled.

"We're family!" Ruby said. "Well, not by blood. He's like my half-sister's mother's brother or something convoluted like that. But you hear things through the grapevine… stories coming out of Signal Academy… and you just confirmed 'em, Lordy."

Lord Ozpin narrowed his eyes as Ruby leaned back in and continued. "Look, you know two scythes are better than one. And he may be your 'best assassin', but the Resistance has unnatural luck. And what's so wrong with a backup plan, hmm? Look, let me put it this way: you want to command all that exists, don't you? Well, like it or not, I'm something that exists. I don't care if you command me. I might have a year ago, but now? Anything that puts flesh on the scythe." She leaned back in her chair and smiled smugly. "You can either use me or kill me, Lord Ozpin. And as much as you probably want to kill me, gods know I would, I'm no good to you dead. I'm willingly offering up my services here, and for a teeny tiny little payment. Anything that gets me closer to my goal."

"And what is your goal, Miss Rose?" Lord Ozpin questioned menacingly.

Ruby lowered her head. "I want to be strong. I want to be feared. I want to be powerful."

Lord Ozpin paused, staring at Ruby. He lowered his head and locked eyes with her.

"You make a compelling argument, Miss Rose," Lord Ozpin said. He lifted his head back again. He reached out his hand. "You want power? I know just what to give you. But step out of line, and I will not hesitate to end you."

Ruby smirked and extended her own hand, gripping his hand and shaking it. "I like your style, Lord Ozpin." Ruby giggled. "You might just be as twisted as me."

In that moment, two blackened hearts were allied; a pact so evil it would have made the gods shudder.

Roman stayed behind to look after Salem. He lit a cigar he had recovered and puffed on it. When he heard Mercury cough, he decided to smoke outside as not to suffocate him or Salem. Roman, leaning on his cane, walked up the basement stairs and into the decrepit room above, and quickly stepped out the door, which was left ajar. He was surprised to see Cinder, Emerald, and Adam still there.

"I expected you to be gone already," he said, inhaling the smoke.

"We're almost done," Emerald replied. She loaded a pair of ammunition clips into her guns and sighed. She was dangerously low.

Cinder huddled next to Adam, pulling a small, worn map out of her backpack. "Everything east of here is either our old base, Beacon Fortress, the CCT Tower, or just some abandoned housing that we've already cleared out," she explained. "Where we need to go is further west, out towards the city limits."

Adam nodded. "I'm familiar with it." He pointed to a red mark on the map. "Forever Fall is right here. The White Fang convene there."

"So I've heard," Cinder said, remembering what Emerald had said earlier. "That's where I need you. I know you're not a part of the White Fang anymore, but would you have any idea if the White Fang would currently be in the area? Or which places to avoid?"

Adam glanced at the sky. The sun, or at least as much of it that could be seen behind the clouds, was high in the sky. "It's midday," he said. "That means White Fang activity will be at its highest. However, that also usually means that they're somewhere other than Forever Fall: Lord Ozpin's war offices, slave markets, refugee camps… anywhere they can go to riot or protest. And before I left, if I remember right, the usurper Blake Belladonna planned a large raid on several Schnee Dust Company mines and offices, and even their headquarters and Schnee Manor. There may be a small chance that the White Fang isn't even in Vale at the moment."

Cinder glanced up at him. "So most of them won't be in Forever Fall. I guess that's good." She looked back down that the map. "Anywhere else we should be wary of?"

Adam nodded and pointed to a small square near the edge of the city. It was almost covered by the symbols indicating the Vale Overpass. "This is the hideout of a notorious gangster. I regret to say he's Faunus, but he could not care less about the dealings of the White Fang. However, he'll do anything for a high enough price, including some… unsavory actions."

"A price?" Cinder questioned. "Like money?"

Adam slowly nodded. "Yes. Despite Lord Ozpin having control of almost all finance in Remnant, he still values Lien above all else. He'll sell weapons and Dust occasionally, but his main sources of income are his prostitution and bounty hunting businesses. He has several bounty hunters at his disposal. If you want someone dead, captured, or otherwise removed, he's the guy to talk to. I regret to say that I used his services once to get the White Fang into Atlas."

Cinder scoffed. "I wonder if we've got a bounty on our heads."

Adam shrugged. "Unlikely. Anyone who goes to him is usually just some underground scum, and you need a lot of Lien to convince him. Blake hates him from the last time the White Fang dealt with him, so the only reason she'd ever try to go there is to kill him, and Lord Ozpin and his forces would just try and shut him down. Still, I'd avoid the area and especially that building. He's unpredictable, and unpredictability is dangerous in Vale."

"Good to know," Cinder said. She was surprised that she had not heard of this individual or his organization earlier. If they had any money, she may have considered paying him a visit. However, they did not have any Lien and, with Adam's warning, she now knew better.

"All right," Emerald said, walking up to Cinder and Adam. "Ready whenever you are."

Adam nodded at Cinder, who put away the map and pulled out her blades. "Okay," she said. "Let's go."

Roman waved at them as he puffed on his cigar. Emerald waved back, then followed Cinder and Adam as they jogged back into the waste.

Blake bit down on the ring and yanked it out with her teeth. She spat the bitter metal onto the dirt, then threw the grenade as far as she could. It exploded a few seconds later, blasting fire and debris out of the pit.

Ilia swung her barbed whip, the lash striking at a Schnee Dust Company slavedriver. She whipped again, and the lash wrapped around the man's neck. He yelled and clawed at his neck as blood began to trickle down from the puncture wounds. Ilia quickly withdrew her weapon, the sharp metal sawing around the man's neck and slicing into the skin and muscle. The slavedriver gurgled and gagged as blood poured from his jugular vein, his arms falling and the rest of his body following.

Blake stabbed her blade into another slavedriver, piercing his gut and then pulling out, leaving him to collapse and die on the ground. She heard rustling to her left and readied her weapon, then turned to charge at it. However, she stopped when she saw that it was a woman, a Faunus, crawling on all fours in the dirt. She was dressed in the monochrome SDC slave uniform, chains binding her feet. She yelped as she saw Blake's aggression, and jumped back. She raised her hands as a tear fell from her eye, which ran down her check and onto her pink, porcine nose.

Blake lowered her blade and relaxed her expression. She leaned forward and extended her hand. "Do not fear me, sister," she said in an authoritative, but welcoming and strong voice. "I, as well as all of your Faunus brothers and sisters in the White Fang, have come to liberate you from oppression!"

The woman hesitated, but slowly reached up and grabbed Blake's open hand. Blake helped the Faunus to her feet, then turned her head and yelled over to Ilia. "Ilia!"

Ilia finished strangling another human, then hurried over. "Yes, High Leader Belladonna?"

Blake motioned towards the slave. "This woman has been liberated. Take her to the edge of the battlefield. Perry should have already set up a safe zone for the other freed ones."

"Yes, ma'am!" Ilia obeyed. Blake transferred the woman's hand to Ilia's and Ilia began hurrying with her back through the dust to safety.

Blake looked around. This attack on a Schnee Dust Company mine was proving successful. Still, even with all she was doing, she could not help but think about Taurus. She had elected to use that rage in the battle. He could not hide forever. Only she knew what lied behind his mask. It was only a matter of time.

* * *

"Do you see it?" Adam whispered, ducking down behind a crumbling wall.

Cinder ducked down next to him, holding her blades, and Emerald knelt down behind a toppled truck.

"No," Cinder whispered back. She peered her eye over the wall. "Where is it?"

"On the roof of the restaurant," Adam replied. "Behind the antenna."

Cinder shifted her vision. It was difficult to see at first due to the long shadows covering the rooftop Adam was describing, but as soon as it moved, she was able to see it clearly. It flapped its black wings subtly, then turned its white, plated head in their direction, its red eyes scanning the ground.

"Fuck," Cinder huffed. "It's a Griffon. If there's one, that probably means the whole damn flock is nearby."

"Not necessarily," Emerald whispered. "Griffons don't come down from the mountain that often. Maybe this one's alone."

"Can't be too careful," Adam said, readying himself to pull out his sword. "We need to either kill it before it can sound an alarm, or go another way."

Cinder sighed. "There's no other way to go. We have to kill it. But how do we shoot it without making a noise? Emerald's guns are loud."

Emerald gestured towards Cinder's blades. "Can't you string your weapons into a bow?"

Cinder nodded. "Yeah, but if I shoot an arrow at it, it's going to screech or something. We need to get it down to the ground."

The Grimm's claws clicked as it walked across the rooftop, crawling to the edge. It perched there, watching the ground. It cawed, like a raven or crow, then beat its wings.

"It looks like it's about to come down," Adam whispered.

"We need to get into position to kill it when it does," Cinder said. "Emerald, you try and get around behind it. Adam, go for the neck or head. Try to keep it from making a sound. I'll try and go for the kill."

Emerald nodded and slowly moved along the truck to get a head start on her position. Cinder ducked back down and looked at Adam's mask. It was the closest she could get to eye contact. He nodded at her.

The Griffon suddenly screeched like a hawk and extended its wings. It beat them once, causing light debris on the street below to flutter. Then it pushed itself off of the ledge and glided down to the street. Its bone-like talons dug into the concrete as it landed. It lowered its head and pecked at a stone.

"Now!" Cinder said. She and Adam simultaneously vaulted over the ow wall. The Grimm lifted its head and opened its beak. Emerald ran out behind it, unhinging the blades off of her guns and transforming them into their Kusarigama mode. She dug the blades into the Griffon's backside, causing it to turn its head towards her. Adam quickly unsheathed his blade and, with a quick motion, stabbed it downwards into the Griffon's beak. The sword struggled at first, but cracked its way through the thick plating and to the other side. The Grimm tried to open its beak and screech in pain, but the sword's hilt kept the maw from opening. Cinder dug her blades into the creature's side, tackling it as she did so. Adam grunted as the sword was pulled from his grip as the Grimm fell over. Cinder began rapidly stabbing, just trying to kill it quickly. It flailed and tried to screech again, then collapsed and died in a flurry of black smoke and blood.

Adam retrieved his sword quickly, and then looked and listened. There was no sign of any other Grimm nearby.

"Well," Emerald said, locking the blades on her weapons back down so that they were guns again, "I'd say mission accomplished."

Cinder nodded. "It would seem so. Good work, guys."

As Adam sheathed his blade, Emerald looked down a crossroad.

"Hey," she said. "I see Forever Fall."

Cinder and Adam walked up next to her and looked in the direction she was. About a mile down the abandoned grey street and under grey skies was a burst of color. It was vibrant red, painting the horizon as far as they could see. The crimson-leaved trees had trunks of brown so dark they looked black, and were nestled above a forest floor swirling with pink and white.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Adam said.

Emerald nodded. "The red… it's not like the red we usually see; blood and gore. It's more like… the sunset. Like a permanent state of autumn." She paused. "Wait, is that why it's called 'Forever Fall'"?"

Cinder could not help but smile. It was almost jarring to see so much life in one area. Everything now seemed desolate and cold… but Forever Fall was not. It was like a dream. In that moment, time slipped away, the past seemed to fade. Cinder took a breath and, for a moment, forgot about death and war. She just felt the presence of her friends beside her as she took in the sight. Her life seemed to always be filled with passing moments. Like the seasons change, they come and go. But for one second, she could make a memory that would last forever. Her own Forever Fall.

However, the moment had to end. Cinder was snapped back to reality as she saw a glimmer in a nearby store window, reflecting some of the dim sunlight. She jogged over to it and gasped.

"Em! Adam!" she called. The two of them hurried over and grinned.

In the store window was an entire case of various Dust crystals and vials. There was Fire, Ice, Lightning, Earth, and even a pair of black Gravity crystals. Cinder waved for Emerald and Adam to stand back as she rammed the glass with one of her blades, shattering it. She quickly opened her bag, and the three of them began shoveling the Dust into it. When they had about finished, Emerald looked up and peered into the store.

"Look!" she said. She pointed to a dark case on a counter on the far end of the room. "That looks like an ammo case. I think this place was a weapon shop."

As Cinder and Adam put the last Fire Dust crystals and vials into the bag, Emerald skipped around them and into the abandoned store. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling, and thick dust and dirt coated the floor and empty shelves. There were bullet casings on the ground, as well as some claw marks on the wall next to a collapsed shelf.

"It looks like someone was already here, but they were attacked by a Grimm and had to run before the got everything," Emerald observed. She ran her fingers along the claw marks, then carefully jogged over to the box. She lifted the latch and peered inside.

"Good news!" she called over. "It's ammo. Perfect kind for my guns, too."

Cinder looked down into her bag, making sure all of the Dust was packed safely so it would not break or detonate. As she was admiring their find, she heard a loud thud. She glanced up and saw two people standing inside the store: Emerald, and the silhouette of a woman about her height. She was clutching an object in her hand. Suddenly, Emerald fell to the ground, as if the figure had struck her on the back of the head with the object and knocked her out cold.

"Emerald!" Cinder yelled. She flung the backpack over her shoulder and lifted her blades. She did not bother to use the door, but rather vaulted into the window, ignoring the broken glass, and over the counter. When her feet landed on the dirty floor, they immediately began running towards the figure. The silhouette gasped as it saw Cinder charging; a clearly feminine gasp. As Cinder raised her blades, the figure leapt back, and Cinder heard a metallic bang. She glanced down to see a grey, metal cylinder bounce at her feet. As soon as she laid her eye on it, thick fumes of grey smoke began spewing from either end of the contraption. Cinder raised her arm over her mouth, trying to keep her focus on the woman.

"Cinder!" Adam yelled. He ran through the door and then towards her, but then yelled. He clutched his back, and pulled a sharp object from his shoulder blade. As soon as he did, he felt his vision get blurry and his balance vanish. He mustered up the strength to look at the object and identify it as a dart of some kind, though it looked more like a spiked bullet. Then he collapsed to the ground, blacking out.

"Adam!" Cinder shouted, turning her head to look at him. She coughed and hacked as the smoke filled her lungs, and cried as it burned her eyes. In seconds, Adam's body was obscured by thick smoke. It was only then that she realized she had turned away from the figure.

Cinder felt a blunt, solid object slam into the back of her head. It was expertly swung to hit her in just the right spot to instantly make her eyes cross and thoughts fuzzy. She groaned as a throbbing pain dulled her senses, and she fell to her knees. However, even then, she was unable to keep her composure, and she fell onto her stomach, her cheek planting into the dust. The smoke would have still stung if she could feel her sinuses. Though her ears rang and her vision blurred, she could hear footsteps and see a pair of silhouettes approach from out of the smoke. As they got closer, she could finally make out their appearances, though they were still distorted and smeared due to her state. They were both women, or rather girls, looking like they were in their late teens. One was in an expensive-looking brown outfit with a black beret, a string of pearls around her fair neck, and a pair of dark sunglasses. In her fist was a dark brown handbag, though it looked more like a small reinforced suitcase. The other was dressed in a brown jacket and shorts with gold trim, with a semi-translucent black undershirt and black leggings. She had a box strapped to her golden belt, and a rifle-like gun in her hand. Her brown eyes wore a sour expression, and a pair of long brown rabbit ears rose from her flowing brown hair.

"I think it's payday, Velvet," was the last thing Cinder heard before everything went black.


End file.
